In Over His Head
by FandomFluid
Summary: Tony meets a hot woman, takes her home, and finds out the next morning what a huge mistake he's made. So, he does his best to deal with it.
1. Chapter 1

As much as he loved partying, it was the formal parties Tony hated more than any other rich-people-gathering he was, as a fellow rich person, obligated to attend. There was nothing that made him not want to socialize more than formal parties and galas. He preferred socializing to the sound of pounding music with the taste of a hard liquor on his tongue while bodies jumped and danced all around him, the room smelling like alcohol, sweat, and perfume. He could lose himself in those kinds of parties. It was impossible to lose himself when he was shaking hands with seventy-year-old Mr. Who Gives a Shit and his new twenty-year-old wife who absolutely, definitely loved him for him rather than the hefty will he'd be including her in. Maybe it was the soft orchestra playing in the background, or maybe it was the fact that everyone else at the event had come with a partner of some sort, leaving Tony pitifully alone.

He was about to throw in the towel and call it a night a lot earlier than he would have liked when he caught sight of a head of black curls that fell to it's owner's perfect hips. Tony blinked as he looked at the unfamiliar woman, looking her up and down. They might have been helped out by the heels she was wearing, but her legs had to be at least a mile long, if not longer. She had hips and breasts that looked round and soft, like he could spend hours just feeling them beneath his fingers. When she lifted a hand to tuck her long hair behind her ear and revealed her profile to him, Tony bit his lip. God damn, that face was icing on the already tantalizing cake. With high cheekbones, long eyelashes, bright green eyes, and full red-painted lips, the woman looked like an angel. It was only until once he'd finished looking at her when Tony finally really looked at her.

She had her arms crossed over her chest and she was looking around as if for searching for some sort of way out as an older man continued to talk to her as if nothing was wrong. Tony frowned and decided to approach the pair and try to diffuse the situation.

"Hey, Lexy. It's been a while, I didn't think I'd see you here." He said to the young woman, giving her a look to silently tell her to play along.

"It's a small world. It's good to see you again." She replied to him, apparently getting the hint as she smiled to him gently.

"Tony Stark." The older man said, his face painted with a fake smile.

"In the flesh. How's your wife doing, Mr. Jones?" Tony replied to him with the same fake smile, though it got a bit more genuine when he saw the man bristle and the woman cock an eyebrow out of the corner of his eye.

"She's fine. It was nice meeting you, sweetheart." The older man replied shortly before heading off somewhere else.

Tony didn't miss the way the woman's nose wrinkled at the name and smiled softly. She immediately relaxed, her arms falling back to her sides once the man was gone and leaving her alone.

"God, thank you for that." She sighed to Tony. Tony finally noticed at that point that she spoke with some sort of accent, though it's origin was pretty vague. It sounded European, that was for sure, but some sort of mix between an English and a Scandinavian accent.

"Yeah, no problem. You looked like you were trying not to punch him. I kinda wish you had, it would have made things interesting around here. He wasn't harassing you, was he?"

"No, well, I suppose he was in a way. He was trying to tell me that a woman my age should focus on getting married and having kids and raising a family. Then, he decided to start talking like he would have been a good match for me. He wouldn't let me get a single word in. I should have punched his teeth in." She replied with a small sigh.

Tony nodded in understanding. "Well, I'm Tony Stark, by the way." He replied, sticking a hand out to her.

"I'm Rowan, Rowan Anderson." She replied, taking his hand and shaking it firmly.

"It's good to meet you. So, how does a pretty lady like you come to have that accent?"

"My accent? I suppose I do have one, in your eyes. I'm Swedish nobility, one of King Gustav's cousins, I just finished University in London and I decided that it would be worth it to travel while I'm still young. So, here I am."

Tony nodded as he listened to her, though not really hearing her words. Instead, he found himself focusing on her accent and her bright green eyes. He'd heard that accent before, but he couldn't place where exactly.

"I see. You know, I think I'm going to leave this place a bit early. I'd be happy to show you around the city, if you want to come with me. Or maybe we could just head back to my place."

Rowan blinked at the words before smiling warmly and moving to take Tony's hand in her own. "I'd love to get out of here with you." She replied, picking up the skirt of her gown so she'd be able to walk with him easily.

Tony grinned to her and sent a quick text to Happy to come pick them up as they walked out together. On one hand, he felt really great to be walking out with a woman who looked like she could put Heidi Klum and every other Victoria's Secret Angel to shame. On the other hand, he couldn't help but wonder what Pepper would do. He figured it was fair game to see other people, since they had decided to take a break.

So, he held onto her hand and walked out of the building with the woman contently, walking slowly so she didn't have to worry about walking too fast in heels that looked like they could easily be used as a weapon. They walked together for a bit until they met Happy at a nearby curb. Tony opened the door for Rowan, letting her slide inside before he followed suit.

"Take us home, Hapy." He said, patting the driver's shoulder before settling back in the seat. "So, tell me more about yourself. What all am I getting myself into?" he asked. While he was mainly just focusing on her body and her accent and wondering what her voice would sound like later into the night, he knew girls loved to feel like the random stranger they were going home with cared about them, so he wanted to play into that. Maybe, just maybe, that beautiful tall drink of a woman would stick around a while.

"Ah, where to start?" She hummed before starting to tell him all about himself. The woman could talk for hours and hours and keep him entertained with that beautiful accent of hers. She told him about herself and her life even as they walked into the building, riding up to the penthouse in the elevator. There was something about that accent that made her seem almost ethereal, like he should worship her as a goddess before, during, and after he ate her out.

He held onto her hand as he let her inside. "Go ahead and get comfortable. Feel free to take those shoes off. I've never worn stilettos like those, that I remember, but I don't think they would be very comfortable at all. You want anything to drink?"

"Ah, yes, please. I'll have what you're having." She replied as she took her heels off, leaving them aside on the floor as she padded over to the small bar in the large living room area and sitting down at the bar.

"Whoa there, Ro. You sure you want what I'm having? I usually stick to the pretty hard, strong stuff. I can make you a cocktail or something, if you want." Tony offered her.

"Are you afraid for my delicate feminine palate, Anthony?" She asked, smirking at him. There was something about that knowing look that seemed super familiar, for whatever reason.

"What? No, I'm just making sure. Most girls I'm with can't handle straight whiskey." He replied to her honestly.

"Don't you worry about me, Anthony. I wouldn't ask for it if I couldn't handle it."

Tony smiled a bit at her and nodded, obediently pouring a couple classes of the whiskey for the two of them and sliding one over to her. He clinked their glasses with her before drinking with her. One drink turned into two, and two turned to three, and he could feel himself getting all warm and fuzzy. Rowan, however, didn't seem to be feeling any effect whatsoever. She just grinned and laughed happily, tossing each glass back one by one, as if it was her job and she was gunning for a promotion.

"God, baby, you aren't fucking around, are you?" Tony asked her after the fourth drink, letting her behind the bar with him.

"Never. I've never fucked around a single day in my life." She replied with a grin, moving even closer to him and pressing herself flush against him.

The feeling of her soft breasts pressed against his torso was amazing, and it only felt better when he looked down to see her bright green eyes looking up at him through long, thick lashes.

"Would you like to start tonight? Maybe fuck around a bit with me?" Tony asked her, wrapping his arms around her small waist and rubbing at her lower back.

"I think that sounds absolutely lovely." She replied to him, reaching behind her to take his hand and guide it lower.

Tony grinned at that and kissed her hungrily and deeply. At that point, everything turned into a flurry of tongue and hands on each other's bodies. The next thing he knew, they were both in their underwear and he was carrying her to his bedroom, deciding he would be taking off that pair of black lacy panties with his teeth as soon as possible.

He set her down on the bed before climbing on top of her, happily tugging down the pair of panties as planned before tossing them aside and starting to kiss and bite down her neck, moving one hand down to rub at her clitoris. He broke out into a happy grin as he heard her breaths get heavier as she started to moan beneath her. He trailed his kisses down her body to her breasts, nipping at one of her nipples to illicit a gasp out of her.

He worked his way down her body, getting between her legs and kissing at her thighs before starting to eat her out. He didn't mind her lipstick making a mess when she started to pay him back. He held her dark curls out of the way all the while, pulling her off before she went too far. He didn't allow himself to finish until much later in the night after making sure that she did first. They fell asleep a while later, panting, naked, and sweaty. He curled himself around her and held her close, burying his face in her hair and falling asleep to the sweet scent of fruit and flowers that lingered in her curls.

Rowan woke up first, rubbing her eyes. She checked the time before deciding to get out of the bed, don one of Tony's button down shirts, and head out to make coffee. She hummed to herself as she let the coffee brew, conjuring up a hairpin to hold the long black locks up and out of her face. She whirled around when she heard a pair of footsteps walking into the room, watching as a red-haired woman walked into the room and telling herself to play it cool.

"Can I help you?" She asked the stranger.

The new woman looked over at her and jumped a bit. "Oh, sorry, I was just dropping something off for Tony to look over and sign."

"That's fine. Anthony never told me anything about a housekeeper, so I wasn't expecting you." Rowan replied, padding out to meet the new woman, not missing the way she bristled at the word 'housekeeper'. Obviously, she didn't like the label, though Rowan just smiled to her and didn't take it back at all.

The stranger looked her up and down before obviously forcing a smile. "I don't suppose he did. I'll leave you two alone, then." She finally replied before turning on her heel and practically stalking out of the room.

Rowan smiled softly and figured she had a bit of time left before the coffee was done. So, she went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

"Even in this body, it wears me out far too much…" She hummed, watching in the mirror as her body surrounded itself with a fine green mist and morphed into the body of a taller, thin young man.

Loki examined himself in the mirror, figuring he'd give the sei∂r a rest for just a little bit. He'd go back to being Rowan soon enough, but he needed to let himself take a small break so it didn't wear him out.

"Agh, disgusting." He griped when he felt the stickiness between his thighs, moving to clean himself off, turning around just as a half asleep, hungover Tony Stark stumbled into the room.

"Hey, Ro. Sorry, I didn't know you were in here." He said as he moved over to the sink to get a glass of water, not really looking at the other figure. He saw a mess of black hair, so he just assumed he was standing with the woman he'd taken home the previous night.

Loki swallowed at that and decided to answer, just straightening up to face the mirror with Tony.

Tony felt his heart stop at the sight of the figure next to him that was wearing his shirt. He choked on his water a bit, feeling his chest tighten. He could practically feel Loki's hand on his shirt before throwing him out of a window with the promise that he and the rest of the world would bow before him.

In a way, Loki looked even worse for wear than he had when he'd blown into Tony's life before leaving after nearly leveling all of Manhattan and leaving Tony with a terrible amount of nightmares and post-traumatic stress disorder. His hair was longer and messier and considerably curlier. He had dark circles and bags under his eyes and he looked skinnier than he remembered him being. When they'd met, Loki's eyes were wild and crazed. Now, they seemed rather dull and tired. In short, he looked like shit.

"What the fuck are you doing here? You're not real." Tony finally breathed out, his eyes never leaving the other man.

"Is that any way to speak to someone you just took to your bed, Anthony?" Loki asked with a small smirk, looking over Tony's shoulder when the coffee pot beeped, signaling it had finished brewing. "Ah, the coffee's done."

Tony stood dumbfounded as Loki slipped past him to pad over to the coffee pot in the kitchen. He finally followed the other man once he got a grip on reality again.

"Okay, I'm going to give you one minute to explain what the fuck you're doing here before I call Thor or Fury or someone." Tony said as the god poured two mugs of coffee, sliding one over to Tony.

"My, one minute? That's hardly fair, don't you think?" Loki asked as he sipped the hot, bitter drink.

"Clock's ticking, Reindeer Games."

"Alright, alright, fine. I'm here because you brought me here. I didn't ask for you to bring me to bed, nor did I count on meeting you last night. I simply needed a change of pace, so I changed form for the night and decided to come to Midgard. I saw some sort of gathering, so I figured I'd see what it was. It turned out to be a lot more boring than I was hoping and I was going to leave when that disgusting old man started trying to make me his wife. Then you stepped in and the rest is history. I'm not doing anything bad or wrong, I'm just taking a small vacation. In due time, I'll return to Asgard. I am needed there and obligated to return soon enough."

Tony listened, but couldn't help but laugh a bit. "And who exactly needs you? Or are you good for something other than ruining peoples' day?"

"It's funny you say that, when I definitely made your day last night. And, as a matter of fact, I am currently essential to Asgard, as it were." Loki shot back with a haughty smile.

"Honey, I don't know who told you you're essential to anything, but they're lying to you."

"Odin lies in Odinsleep. I rule in his stead and in his form. I am essential to Asgard, whether or not anyone other than myself knows it. Until I decide to announce otherwise, everyone thinks I'm dead."

Tony blinked in shock at the answer. He figured he couldn't just turn in Loki for doing nothing. Well, he could, but it would be a bit of a dick move. "How long do you think you're going to stick around?"

"I'm not sure. A few days, I think. If you want to take me to bed again, Stark, just say so."

"Alright. How about you stick around here so I can keep an eye on you. If you wanna see New York, I can show you around. I just want to keep an eye on you."

"You make it sound like you don't trust me, Stark."

"I don't. Not at all. If you try anything, I'll call your brother down here and you'll have to deal with that."

"You have no way to contact him."

"I'm Tony Stark, sweetheart. I'll find a way."

Loki frowned a bit at that and sighed, taking a sip of his coffee, mulling the offer over for a bit. "Anything I want to do in New York City, within reason?"

"Within reason. I reserve the right to deny taking you anywhere I'm not comfortable with." Tony replied with a nod to the god.

"Fine. I'll stay for three days and you need to accommodate and entertain me. In return, I'll simply be a benign tourist." Loki decided, taking Tony's hand when the other man stuck it out and shaking it.


	2. Chapter 2

It took roughly thirty seconds for Loki to take his female form and drag Tony by the hand to the elevator. He had three days to make Tony entertain his whims, and he was going to get the most out of it.

Tony quickly grabbed his wallet and a pair of sunglasses, slipping the glasses onto his face as a minimal attempt to conceal his identity. He knew it was bound to happen anyways, but the moment some photographer caught him walking around the unfamiliar woman, the paparazzi would go batshit. Especially since, by all accounts, Loki's female form was a walking definition of the term 'bombshell'.

"So, do you have any plan of action?" He asked her as they rode down in the elevator together.

"I'll figure something out." Loki replied with a small smile to him.

"So, that's a 'no'." Tony said with a small sigh, walking out of the elevator with her once they hit the ground level.

Once they walked out onto the streets of Midtown Manhattan and started walking around together, it took Loki about five minutes until she'd spotted the words 'booksellers' on the side of a building and started hauling Tony towards a Barnes and Noble.

Once inside, Tony made a mental note that taking Loki into a bookstore was essentially the same thing as taking a child into a candy store. He tried to remember the way the god could have smothered him in his sleep that previous night when he saw the way her green eyes seemed to light up with glee at the sight of the place. On one hand, he knew she was dangerous and could go unhinged at any second. On the other hand, though, the way her eyes lit up and the way she bounced eagerly next to him was pretty endearing.

"Okay, don't wander out of here without me. I'll be around in here, so I'm sure you'll be able to find me." Tony said to her, wondering if he ought to hover around her, just in case.

"I think I can handle a bookstore, Stark." She replied with a roll of her eyes before going back to surveying the area around her, as if planning an attack.

"Fine, fine, damn. Go have your fun, then." Tony replied, letting go of her hand and watching her leave to start perusing the aisles of the store. He sighed a bit and rubbed the back of his neck, watching her go and forcing himself to look away when he caught himself staring at the way her hips swayed when she walked. He meandered through the store alone, though always making sure to keep a couple aisles away from her, just in case.

"Let's see what we're working with here." He thought aloud as he wandered over to the meager shelf dedicated to mythology books. Most of them were dedicated to Greek and Roman stories, though he was able to find one on Norse myths. He didn't like that Loki had a leg up on him and he was determined to find something he could consider a weakness for the god.

He paged through the book, skimming over a few of the stories until he'd find one with something that might help him. He read over the oddly convoluted story of how Thor got his hammer after Loki decided to cut off Thor's wife's hair just for shits and giggles, then promised to get her new hair from some dwarves so Thor wouldn't kill him. Instead of getting just hair, though, he ended up conning the dwarves into making a bunch of other shit for the gods, including Mjolnir. A later story told about how Thor had lost the hammer, leading to him and Loki donning drag to seduce the giant who'd stolen it to give it back. While the stories were interesting, there was nothing all that juicy. He couldn't use any of it as a weakness against the trickster god he'd decided to share a home with.

Tony was about to put the book away and give up when he paged further a bit more and found an illustration that was supposedly depicting a man tugging at the reins of a bucking stallion while a white horse stood a few hundred feet away, watching it all go down. The caption below read 'Loki and Svadilfari (1909) by Dorothy Hardy'.

"Damn, Dorothy, where are you leading me?" Tony mumbled, flipping through the book until he found the name Svadilfari. He found the beginning of that story and sat down on the floor of the aisle, deciding to actually read through that one. He quickly found out just how hard that particular story was to read as he went further and further with it. He forced himself to read until the bitter end where Loki's new horse baby, along with the rest of his children, were taken and locked away from him out of fear that they would play a part in the Ragnarok. The idea of Loki getting a horse forced upon him, even in the form of a mare, was enough to turn his stomach. The idea of having beloved children torn away from him to be imprisoned on their own only rubbed salt on the wound.

Tony hadn't known how long he'd sat down on the floor, staring in awe at the book, only getting torn from his trance when a green mist lifted the book from his hands, slammed the thing shut, and forced it back onto the bookshelf. He looked up to see Loki frowning down at him with a stack of about four or five books in her hands. Without any words being shared, Tony couldn't help but get the feeling he'd found out something he wasn't supposed to. He figured that probably meant he'd found the god's weakness, but it would be a real dick move to ever use it.

"Are you good to go, then?" Tony asked as he moved to stand up from the floor.

"Yes, and then I want to go home." Loki replied shortly.

"Really? We've only been out for less than an hour." Tony asked.

"Home, Stark." Loki snapped back.

"Fine, fine, I'll pay for your shit and we'll go home." Tony sighed as he led Loki off to the registers at the front of the store to pay for his stack of books. He let Loki take the bag once they'd checked out and lead the god out of the building so they could return to the tower. Loki never said a word, even when the two of them were ambushed by people with cameras. Instead, she just let Tony quickly pull her close to try and hide her face, just in case, and rush her out of the area before too many of them could get a good enough shot of the two of them and notice how much her features looked familiar.

Tony knew he probably could have let her go after they'd escaped the crowd, but he didn't really think about that until they'd returned to the tower together. He kept an arm wrapped around her waist to hold her close until they had gotten into the elevator together and Loki finally pulled away and let the female disguise drop.

Loki didn't say a word as they left the elevator, clutching his bag of books close and plopping himself down onto the couch to lay across it and pull out the first of his books to start reading.

Tony personally didn't mind that Loki didn't seem to want to do much anymore, since that meant that he didn't have to put up with the god dragging him around all over, at least for that day.

Part of him wanted to head back down to his workshop and tinker away for the rest of the day, but he definitely wasn't going to leave Loki alone in his house. The guy was a ticking a time bomb, and he knew he'd fuck something up the moment he didn't have anyone to supervise him. So, he poured a small glass of scotch and moved to sit down in an armchair by the couch. After grabbing a Stark Pad from a nearby coffee table, he got comfortable and started doing whatever research he could on myths Loki was affiliated with. He knew a lot of it probably wasn't too accurate, since they were stories that had originally been passed down from generation to generation orally, like a huge game of Telephone. There were bound to be at least a few errors.

"Are you really drinking at this hour?" Loki asked, looking up from his book after a few minutes.

"You aren't?" Tony replied as he skimmed over the words on the screen of the Stark Pad.

"It's barely high noon."

"It's evening somewhere." Tony replied with a small shrug. "You wanna talk about whatever the hell happened back in that bookstore? I think it might be an elephant in the room."

"There's no such creature in here."

"I mean, if we don't talk about it, it's just gonna hang around until we do. Nothing will be solved or better until we do. We all know it's there, we need to acknowledge it." Tony explained, setting his Stark Pad down in his lap.

"If I tell you my problems, you need to do the same. I refuse to divulge something so personal unless it's reciprocated."

"Deal. Do you want something to drink beforehand?"

"If you have wine, I'll take some."

"Coming right up, Princess." Tony said before getting up from his seat, absentmindedly messing up Loki's hair as he passed behind him to get to the minibar. He returned with a glass of red wine, passing it over to Loki before he moved to sit on the couch next to him.

"So, spill the beans. What made you all pissy in Barnes and Noble?"

"You were reading that book."

"What, you have beef against the Prose Edda?"

"No, it's not that. Most of the stories in that book are false, anyways. That book will tell you Odin is my brother. They did get a few things relatively accurate, whether I like it or not. I got angry because I saw you reading about Sleipnir. I didn't want you knowing about my past concerning my children. How do I know you won't use the knowledge of that weakness of mine against me? Anyone who wanted to could dangle my children over my head with the intention of making me bend to their will for the sake of their safety."

Tony blinked at the reply, watching the god carefully as he explained the entire reasoning. "Blackmailing you with your kids seems like a total dick move. If I swear to you I won't use anything you say against you, and that nothing you say will leave this room, will you tell me what you don't want your enemies knowing about your children?"

Loki took a drink of his wine, looking over at Tony. "What are you willing to swear on?"

"My mother's grave."

Loki blinked in shock, holding eye contact with Tony. "Very well." He replied before setting his wine glass aside. "However, it's much better to show you than explain it all. If you would close your eyes."

Tony nodded and shut his eyes, feeling Loki's hand gently press to his forehead. He couldn't help but wonder if his hand was cold from the wine glass or if he was just one of those people who always had cold hands.

He didn't get too much time to think through it before an image of huge golden halls flooded his mind, Nordic runes etched into the walls as decoration. The sound of happy laughter filled the air as he saw a pair of young boys and a little girls running ahead of a much younger-looking Loki, who followed behind, cradling a newborn baby securely against his chest. The oldest of the boys looked like he couldn't be more than eight years old. The other boy looked around six, and the little girl had to be about four. The children seemed perfectly fine as they played, but Tony could hear a few other people whisper as they milled around together. The people never said anything bad about the little kids, thankfully, but they didn't hold back when they whispered about the young man following behind them. 'The Mother of Monsters' they called him before giggling and adding in a 'little whore prince' for good measure. Tony barely had the time to realize that they weren't speaking English, even if he had understood every word they'd said, as the scene changed to the three kids playing happily in a garden while Loki played with the baby, smiling when it giggled at the little illusions he could produce in the green mist that emerged from his finger. While he played, Loki happily talked with the woman sitting next to him as she rubbed his back gently. The woman looked rather young, and Tony wondered if she was Loki's wife for a little bit, until he heard him call her 'Mother'. He didn't know what all was going on, but he could tell that it was happy. Eventually, a much younger looking Thor joined them, contently playing a bit with his littlest nephew.

"You know, it might be much easier if you got married, Loki. I'm sure there's a wonderful lady around here who will gladly accept your children as her own as well." Thor commented after a bit.

"I know. And Sigyn is a lovely woman, but I'm not too sure yet. I've barely spoken with her." Loki replied with a small frown.

"Of course. I just don't like the things some of the members of the court call you." Thor replied seriously as he watched his younger brother watch his children run and play in the gardens with their grandmother.

"I don't mind what they call me. Just so long as they don't use any of those names on Fenrir, Jormungand, Hela, or Sleipnir."

With that the scene changed. All of a sudden, the air wasn't as sunny and happy anymore. He couldn't tell if the weather had actually changed, or if it was just the way Loki was projecting it all into his mind. Thor was holding Loki back as a large group of guards carried his kicking, screaming children away, Sleipnir wailing from his bundle of blankets as he was wrenched away from Loki, who was crying and screaming the loudest. Tony looked over around the room as his mother came over to try and help provide comfort as he fought against Thor's arms. The man he could only guess was Odin stayed sitting in his throne, watching with a face of stone.

The scene changed once again to Loki in his room, refusing to eat or sleep or leave as he made a mess of the area, looking frantically for anything that might help him steal his children back. Every so often, his mother would come, practically begging him to emerge and eat something, telling him it had been too long and everyone was worried. However, Loki only had the energy to frantically flip through each and every book that lined the colossal bookshelves along the walls of his bedroom. Anything else would be much too exhausting.

With that, Loki lifted his hand away from Tony's forehead, letting him return to the current time and place.

"Jesus Christ, what the fuck?" Tony breathed, looking over at Loki next to him. "I guess I can kinda see why you're so messed up in the head, now."

"Oh, Stark, that's not even half of it. If I told you my life story, though, we'd be here for quite some time more." Loki replied as he drank the rest of the wine in his glass.

"Why'd they take away your kids?" He asked with a small frown.

"Someone had come to the Allfather with a prophecy of Ragnarok. Evidently, their prophecy included my children and me all rising up against him and starting an all-out war between the gods. Eventually, I would kill the Allfather, and that would be the end of everything. I argued that everyone can have a 'prophecy', so you should always consider that they're more than likely absolute bullshit. He didn't want to listen or take the risk, though, and he ordered my children to be taken away to where I can't ever access them. The sei∂r that they got from me was cuffed and locked away, so Fenrir and Jormungand are forced to live their lives in the body of a wolf and a serpent. Hela lives alone in Hel, the realm of the dead. Sleipnir is forced to stay a horse in his prime. He's fed Idun's golden apples to keep him from aging any further from about six years. I see him all the time, but it's always when Odin is riding him as a steed. Every so often, I get close enough to make eye contact with him. He always seems so sad and so scared. One of these days, I'll let myself into the stables and steal him away."

Tony frowned a bit as he listened to Loki talk. "That's straight fucked." He breathed out with a shake of his head. "Hey, on another note, how come I understood you in that weird head vision thing you gave me? I'm pretty sure that wasn't English you were speaking."

"Did you really expect us to speak English in Asgard, Anthony? Why would anyone revered by the Vikings as deities speak English? It's known to you Midgardians as Ancient Norse or Old Norse. I don't speak a word of English, really."

"Then how are you speaking it right now?"

"We Asgardians have something that's known to us as Allspeak. This allows us to communicate with anyone, despite any language barrier that might stand between us. I am speaking in my native tongue, but you are hearing it in yours. You are speaking to me in your native tongue, but I hear it in mine."

"Can you turn something like that on and off?"

"Of course." Loki replied before immediately switching languages, speaking something that sounded a lot like Norwegian, though not entirely.

"That's really cool." Tony hummed after listening to Loki speak the foreign language.

"Thank you. Now, I think you're stalling. I told you about some of my problems, and now it's your turn to return the favor."

"Do I really have to?"

"We had a deal, Stark."

"I don't know where to start."

"Choose the one that's weighing most heavily on your mind right now."

Tony sighed a bit and stayed quiet, thinking over it for a bit. "I'll tell you what. Let me cut that hair of yours and I'll tell you while I do."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"Babe, It looks like it hasn't been touched for a year at least. It's gross and it ages you."

Loki huffed at that and thought it over for a moment. "Fine. Deal." He replied.

Tony smiled softly to Loki and, without thinking beforehand leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips before grabbing his hand and leading him off to the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3

Loki found himself kneeling on the floor of the bathroom, bent over the edge of the bathtub to let his hair hang down into the tub.

"How is this?" He asked curiously as Tony got the shampoo and conditioner ready so his hair would be clean before it was cut.

"Perfect, Princess, absolutely perfect." Tony replied, giving the other man's raised backside a small pat. "Okay, so now it's my story time. I'm gonna tell you all about some of the shit you missed while you were away."

Tony reached up and turned on the water, pulling down the showerhead so he could start to wet Loki's inky black hair. "So, it all started years ago. I gotta tell you a huge long story if any of the more recent stuff will make sense at all, you know. So, years ago, instead of making technology and becoming a name in clean energy, I made my money through making weapons and selling them to the American military. " He said as he grabbed the shampoo and started to massage it into the other's scalp and the roots of his hair.

Tony explained everything to the god while he washed his hair thoroughly, telling him all about the first suits he'd made.

"Cue a couple years ago, when you decided to pay us all a visit. You wrecked a lot of shit, LoLo. One of the things you and your army of weirdos wrecked was my remaining mental stability. I almost died in outer space, I almost died from getting thrown out of a window, and now I rarely sleep without making sure all the suits are on and ready to go. Actually, I rarely sleep at all. I think last night was the first time in a while." Tony said with a small sigh as he brushed through the other's long black hair once it was all clean and ready to go.

"Part of me wants to keep you in my bed because, damn, how can I not? But, another part of me wants to lock you in a room multiple levels away from me, just so I know you can't try and smother me in my sleep or something. I should be calling Fury on you, not sitting here cutting your hair."

Loki stayed silent as Tony draped a towel around his shoulders before hearing the man start to cut the long locks. "In two days, I'll take my leave. Unless you wish it, I won't bother you any further."

Tony frowned a bit at that, feeling a small pang in his chest at the words as he cut Loki's hair bit by bit. Sure, the God was crazy and could be an absolute princess about a lot of things. But the man wasn't too terrible when he was relaxed like that. He figured he'd had every excuse to get mad at him in the middle of the Barnes and Noble, given the explanation. "I wouldn't even know how to ask you."

"How would you ask any god anything? Stark, you know this, unless you're stupider than I thought."

"You pray?"

"Exactly. Pray to me and I'll be sure to hear it. No one ever really prays to me anymore, not even a lot of the neo-pagans. People tend not to worship chaos gods as much as gods of fertility or something of the like. If you pray, I will hear it, no matter where I am."

Tony nodded in understanding as he cut the god's hair significantly shorter, returning to his story of all the things that had happened after Loki had been taken back to Asgard.

"So, turns out the fucking guy was defending the man who caused my parents to crash their car and shot them both in the head."

"The Captain defended someone like that?"

"Yep, crazy shit, right?"

"Absolutely." Loki agreed as Tony finished with his hair, letting the man brush it back out of his face before turning him around to examine him.

Tony smiled a bit at the sight of the man with shorter hair. It was still a bit shaggy, but ended just at the nape of his neck. "God damn, LoLo. You look about ten years younger."

Loki blinked at the words, letting Tony help him up and lead him to the mirror so he could look at himself. He smiled softly at the sight of himself as he'd looked when he was younger, before he'd let himself fall off the Bifrost. "It looks good. Thank you, Stark."

Tony smiled proudly at his work, winding an arm around the god's thin waist. On one hand, he wanted to push Loki away and rid himself of the god altogether. But, he also wanted nothing more than to hold the God close to himself and never let him go. Loki twisted in Tony's arms to face the other man, wrapping his arms around the other's neck. It didn't take the pair long to start kissing each other lazily in the bathroom, keeping the kisses sweet and chaste for a little while until the sound of Loki's growling stomach broke the moment.

"You hungry, Princess? I guess it has been a little while since we ate last." Tony asked with a small laugh as he hugged Loki close to himself.

"I suppose I am a bit hungry, yes."

"Okay, do you wanna go out and eat somewhere or have food delivered?" Tony asked him curiously, tucking a bit of dark hair behind Loki's ear.

"I want to stay here and eat tonight." Loki replied.

"Awesome. There are certain foods you can't leave Midgard without trying. I think tonight we'll start with Chinese." Tony said with a happy smile to the god, kissing his forehead before leaving to find a menu for Chinese take-out on the Stark Pad.

Loki followed Tony out to the living room, watching the other man look at his device before pulling out another, tapping it a bit, and holding it to his ear before he started to talk to the thing. He got settled on the couch while Tony talked to the device, just watching him contently. He found himself admiring the man, examining every little facet of his face. To say Tony Stark was easy on the eyes was an understatement. The man was very handsome with his nicely groomed facial hair that seemed to emphasize his jawline, deep brown eyes, and the way his mouth moved as he spoke, the corners curving up every so often.

"The deal is done, Princess. Tonight we dine with General Tso." Tony said as he slipped his phone into his pocket, looking over at the god staring at him.

"Who is this General Tso?" Loki asked curiously, moving to lay down across the couch.

"No one knows. But he's got good chicken." Tony replied with a small smile to Loki before he got up to go over to the couch, smirking down at the other man.

"Stark don't you dare."

"Why not? This looks like a pretty good spot." Tony replied, patting the god's backside before sitting down on top of him, laughing as the god started to squirm underneath. "Ah yeah, nice and soft."

"Stark, you are an absolute bastard." Loki replied as the other man moved to lay down on top of him, the two of them laying on their stomachs.

"This is even better." Tony said with a happy smile as he relaxed with Loki on the couch, leaning down to kiss the God's cheek softly.

"Sir, it would seem that Ms. Potts is on her way up to talk to you." JARVIS cut in, making Tony sigh with exasperation in the God's ear.

Loki immediately took his female form, the green mist clearing away as the elevator doors opened to let Pepper in on the scene of Tony laying on top of the woman he'd taken home with him the previous night.

"Hey, Pep. What's up?" Tony asked her curiously, brushing some of Loki's hair aside.

"I wanted to see if I could get those forms you were supposed to look over and sign. Your, um, friend said she'd pass the message on to you." Pepper replied, eyeing the woman pinned between Tony and the couch.

"Ah, I must have forgotten. We just got so busy, it must have slipped my mind." Loki replied with a smirk.

"Play nice, Princess. I can take care of it right now." Tony said, gently pinching Loki's cheek before he rolled off her and went over to get the file and look through it all.

"So, what's her name?" Pepper asked as she sidled over to Tony, looking at the raven-haired woman on the couch. "Please, God, tell me she's legal."

"Of course she's legal. How gross do you think I am? Her name is Rowan. She's not here for too long, so I'm giving her the American experience." Tony replied to her as he moved to start signing the papers.

"What's the American Experience?" Pepper asked with a quirk of her eyebrow. "Or do I not want to know?"

"Well, we're having Chinese delivered tonight." Tony said honestly, handing the file over to her.

"Well, be careful if you go out with her, unless you want you two to be on every magazine cover in America, at the very least."

"Will do, Pep." Tony replied, waving to the redhead before he moved to join Loki on the couch once again, letting the god lean in and snuggle up almost immediately.

"Well, we've got about twenty minutes to kill. What do you wanna do?" he asked as Loki shifted forms once they were alone again.

"I'm open to suggestions." Loki replied honestly.

"Why don't I put on some music for us? I don't know if you've properly heard Earth music before."

"I heard Midgardian music at that gala last night."

"Yeah, well that party sucked. I'll play you things a person can actually dance to." Tony replied, reaching to the Stark Pad to find a good playlist he could put on shuffle, finally choosing one he usually used at his own parties. The sound of the fast music filled the room from speakers in the ceiling.

"Where is that coming from?" Loki asked, looking around the room for the source of the music.

"The speakers, Princess. It's all pre-recorded and then people can buy it and listen to it at their leisure." Tony explained, getting up from the couch and taking Loki's hands to pull him up as well. With that he held onto the other's hands, working on coaxing the other into bouncing and dancing with him.

Loki watched Tony move with wide eyes, not sure how to take the new kind of music and dancing he wasn't used to at all. It seemed so natural for Tony to move his body to the beat of the music, despite the fact that there was no set way for him to move to it.

"Come on, Princess, you just gotta let loose. You gotta feel it." Tony said to him with a happy smile.

"This makes no sense." Loki replied, starting to bounce along with Tony to fast, steady beat of the song.

"It doesn't have to." Tony replied as he took Loki's hands and helped coax him into the simple dance.

It didn't take Loki too much longer to wind his arms around Tony's shoulders as the two of them danced to the music together, moving with the tempo of the song. When the song changed to a different, slower, more sensual one, Tony's arms wound around his waist tighter, pulling the god flush against him as they danced together.

"This isn't so bad, now is it?" Tony asked with a small smile.

"No, it's actually rather enjoyable." Loki replied honestly.

"This is just the tame stuff. You don't even know what grinding is." Tony hummed, smirking a bit at the god.

"What is 'grinding'?"

"It's like this." Tony said before moving behind Loki and holding his hips, guiding the god's hips to start swaying and moving along with his own, every so often rolling his hips into Loki's.

"This feels like the precursor to foreplay. The foreplay to foreplay, if you will." Loki said, gasping a bit the first time Tony's hips rolled into his own.

"That's essentially what it is." Tony replied with a small smile as he gently pulled Loki's hips back into his own just a bit more.

Loki hummed in understanding and rested his head back on Tony's shoulder, letting the other man start to kiss at his exposed throat while their hips continued to move together as the music infected their minds.

Tony had totally lost himself in Loki, slipping his fingers under the waistband of the god's pants to feel at the cool skin over his hipbones. He was just about to move his hands lower when he heard the doorbell to the penthouse ring, cutting off the mood.

"Let's pick this up later." Loki said softly to Tony, pulling away from the man to let him get the food from the man at the door.

"I can't believe it. Cockblocked by General Tso." Tony grumbled as he paid for the food and took the bag over to the table, using a finger to beckon Loki over. "Come here, Princess. It's time to show you something else new and interesting."

Loki walked over to the table with Tony, watching the man pull out a couple boxes and open them to show him what was inside.

"So, this is called Lo Mein. It's basically noodles with vegetables. Here, try a bite." Tony said, pulling out a pair of wooden chopsticks and picking up some of the noodles to hold them to Loki's mouth.

Loki leaned forward to take the noodles into his mouth as well as he could, trying to neatly get them completely in his mouth. "They're good. I don't think I've had anything quite like that."

"Well, hold on to your pants, because it's gonna get even better from that. Or, just drop them, I'm not complaining." Tony replied with a small smile to the god, moving to open up the container of chicken, picking up a piece and feed it to him.

Loki rolled his eyes at Tony's comments and ate the bite contently, humming at the taste. "That's not bad either. That's Mr. Tso's?"

"Yep, that's General Tso's chicken for you. Not the most authentically Chinese food you'll ever find in the world, but it's still real good."

Loki nodded in agreement, letting Tony feed him the egg drop soup and the egg rolls and wontons until he'd tried everything he'd ordered. With that, they sat down and really started to eat together. It took a little while for Loki to really get used to using the chopsticks as utensils.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow? Or do we have one?" Tony asked curiously, gently kicking's the god's shin under the table.

"I don't know if I really have one at the moment. You said something about other foods you want me to try." Loki replied to the other man after swallowing his food in his mouth.

"That's right. Okay, how's a walk around the city sound? We can find a good vendor or two selling hot dogs and pizza. You can't leave New York till you've had a slice of pizza and a hot dog from a cart on the sidewalk." Tony hummed happily to the god.

"Why would I want to eat a dog?"

"It's not an actual dog, I promise. It's basically just a sausage, but you put a bunch of good stuff on it. I promise, it's not as weird as it sounds."

Loki gave Tony a quizzical look but nodded and smiled a bit. "I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it."

"I suppose you will. Now, onto more pressing matters. How does a lowly mortal like me take my Asgardian princess to bed?"

Loki cocked an eyebrow at the question. "Well, it would be a lot harder if I didn't like you. Thankfully for you, I don't mind your company."

"Wow, thanks."

"So, I suppose it would be just like seducing a Midgardian. Given your reputation, I don't think it should be too hard. Unless you don't think you can handle it."

"Oh, Princess Lolo, I plan on handling it, and you, very well," Tony purred, patting his lap. "Now come sit on your throne and let me show you."


	4. Chapter 4

That night turned into a blur. Loki found himself nude and tangled up in the sheets of the bed when he woke in the morning, his hips and lower back aching. He sighed and smiled softly at the familiar feeling. After a few moments, he finally opened his eyes to find himself alone in the large bed. Tony had probably gone off to tinker in his workshop or do something of the like.

So, Loki got out of the bed, and padded nude out of the room to wander into the bathroom. He frowned as he heard multiple voices from the living area just down the hall and around the corner. Quickly deciding it wouldn't do to have anyone see him naked as the day he was born and standing in the middle of Tony's hallway, he quickly rushed to the bathroom, though not making a sound or closing the door so he could still hear what the voices in the living room were saying.

"Look, Armor Man, I did not come here to quarrel with you. I merely had a hunch that something might be amiss, and you might have something to do with it." One voice said, oozing with irritation, and some fatigue.

"And I'm telling you, I don't know anything. If you already checked with everyone else, why would I tell you any different? I don't know where your Dad went and I would be the last person to harbor your brother in here. Fucker threw me out a window." Tony replied, just as irritated.

"Very well. I suppose I was paranoid, after all." Thor sighed.

"Aren't we all, at times? Hey, don't sweat it, Hammer Time. Maybe your Dad just decided he needed a vacation of something."

"The Allfather would never do something like that. His first priority is his duty, he's not the kind of man who would ever abandon that. Which is why it's so troubling that he'd just leave so suddenly. He's been missing for a full day. I fear, if he's gone for any longer, the realm will dive into chaos."

"Why don't you just take his place? You're supposed to anyways, right?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure how quickly Asgard will be able to perform a peaceful exchange of power."

"I guess it doesn't have much of a choice, though. Just hope it's only temporary, Big Guy."

"I suppose that's my only option. Well, thank you for your help, Armor Man. If you ever need a favor in return, ask and it is yours."

"Yeah, okay. Now, go ahead and fly away home or something."

Loki listened as Thor left the area before finally moving to turn on the shower and wash himself from the previous night. He showered quickly, washing his body and hair thoroughly before stepping out of the shower, conjuring up some clothes, and padding out to the living area.

"Hey, you're brother's all fucked up." Tony said as the god wandered into the room.

"So I heard. He used to be so eager for the throne, and now he doesn't want it. It's rather funny, really." Loki hummed, moving to join Tony in the kitchen area of the penthouse. "Now then, I need coffee and I need to break my fast."

Tony cocked an eyebrow at that. "So you could make your own coffee yesterday, but now you can't raise a finger at all? I don't think so, Princess. The pot's over there and the coffee's already brewed. You can get it yourself."

"But you're so much closer." Loki replied with a smirk, just amusing himself but intentionally getting beneath Tony's skin.

Tony sighed, but turned around to get a mug and pour some of the coffee into it. Maybe it was his own fatigue and irritability, but, without really thinking it through, he splashed the contents of the cup onto Loki's face.

Loki yelped at the hot liquid on his face, jumping back instinctually and falling backwards onto his backside, his pale skin going bright pink from the heat of the fresh coffee.

Tony just stood and stared at the God before coming to reality with what had just happened. For one moment, it seemed justified. After all, Loki had been being a little brat. It was retribution in kind. A moment later, though, Tony remembered how hot the coffee must have been. Sure, Loki was a little shit, but that didn't really seem merit a cup of hot coffee to the face. A flick on the nose, perhaps, but not the coffee.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, Lolo. Oh fuck." Tony said, crouching down next to the god, who had his hands covering his face. He reached out to try and touch the other's face or his hands in an attempt to help him. "Holy shit, is that steam? Is your face steaming?"

"Don't touch me! Get away from me!" Loki snapped, slapping Tony's hand away hard.

"Lolo, I need to treat the skin if it's burnt at all." Tony said frowning a bit.

"It'll heal itself, just leave it alone." Loki spat.

Tony sighed and reached over to gently wrap his hands around Loki's wrists, rubbing the back of his hands with his thumbs. "Loki, please, I need to see if you're wounded. It's the only way I'll be able to help you."

Loki held still for a bit, letting Tony's hands stay on his own. After a few minutes, he reluctantly turned his hands away from his face to take hold of Tony's, lowering them down to his lap.

Tony's eyes went wide when he saw the splotches of deep blue across Loki's face with raised ridges making designs on his skin. The blue skin covered where the coffee had hit, as if the heat from the drink had turned his skin a different color.

"Holy shit." He breathed, curiously reaching over to touch the semi-circle ridges on Loki's forehead. He traced them with his finger, gasping a bit when he felt that the blue parts of his skin were as cold as ice. "That's really cool. No pun intended. How does it do that?"

Loki blinked when Tony seemed genuinely interested in the abnormality rather than put off by it. "You don't mind it?"

"No, of course not. It's fucking sick." Tony replied, admiring Loki's face, one of the god's eyes it's usual emerald green and the other entirely red.

"'Sick?'"

"I mean, it's interesting and I really like it. How does it do that?" Tony replied, cupping his cheeks with both his hands.

"It's just natural. It's how my body heals things like burns. The blue parts of my skin are part of my most natural form. The pale parts are a glamour spell I've used my entire life, so it simply feels natural, even if it isn't."

"You're naturally all blue like this? Why make yourself pale and almost white when you can stay this pretty shade of blue?"

"Because, I would be shunned. I'm not like Thor or any of the other Æsir. My only tie to them is through citizenship. By birth, I'm Jotun."

Tony listened to Loki and tried to make sense of the different things he was saying. He didn't really know much about the specifics, but he could guess that Loki was talking about something that had to do with race relations between people on Asgard and people from wherever a 'Jotun' was from.

"So, let me get this straight. Thor's from one race of people, and you're from another race that Thor's race doesn't really like?" Tony thought aloud.

"Yes, exactly. I was born Jotun, and I was taken in by Odin and Frigga as a babe."

Tony nodded in understanding as he kept close to Loki and held his face. "So, they adopted you, and you spent your entire life making yourself look white to fit in there and so people would like you?"

Loki nodded, not entirely used to someone so calmly picking him apart and tearing down the walls he preferred to keep around him.

"That's pretty shitty, honestly. I mean, white people here have a long history of shitting on anyone who isn't white, too, but at least some of us have learned that that's kind of a fucked up thing to do. Do they not have something like that in Asgard?"

"People in Asgard come in all the colors a Midgardian might. However, everyone in Asgard must be Æsir, otherwise they're not welcome. Citizenship isn't really legally defined, but it's understood that if a person was born there, then they're a citizen. I was born in Jotunheim, but taken to Asgard and raised there from before I was even a week old. No one outside of Thor, Odin, you, and I really know."

Tony nodded and listened curiously, more than interested to learn about how things worked in realms beyond his own. "I see. Well, if you're more comfortable being pale than blue, that's fine. Just take whatever form you feel most comfortable in, Lolo."

Loki blinked at the open acceptance of whatever he looked like from Tony. He smiled softly and, for a second, wished that whatever relationship the two of them had developed would last for more than the next day or so. After all, he'd never met someone quite like Tony Stark.

"Thank you. Now forget you ever saw me vulnerable." Loki replied as he let his skin go back to being as pale as a porcelain doll once it had healed itself.

Tony laughed a bit and moved to help Loki up to his feet again. He kissed the other's forehead before leading him back to the kitchen so the two of them could get some breakfast. They ate together contently and finished with Loki practically pushing Tony to get dressed for the day so they could go out together.

While Tony was dressing, Loki changed to his female form and looked out the window curiously, trying to decide what they ought to do that day. She noticed what looked like a huge grove of trees in the middle of the forest of tall, skinny buildings and quickly decided she wanted to explore it.

"Okie dokie, Princess. Shall we go?"

Loki nodded and took Tony's hand, walking out with him. "I want to go to that grove of trees today."

Tony looked over at her quizzically. "Oh, Central Park. Okay, it's a good day for that, the weather's supposed to be nice today." He rode down with her in the elevator before taking her hand and leading her out of the building.

Tony held onto Loki's hand and lead her down the sidewalk, not paying any mind to anyone who saw the two of them together, or any of the people trying to 'discreetly' take pictures of them. He lead her down into a subway station and helped her get in so they could take a train to Central Park.

"I thought you had a driver?" Loki asked confusedly as she followed behind Tony and kept close to him.

"I do, but sometimes I just like taking public transport. Besides, it's his day off." Tony replied, leading her onto the train when it came to a stop beside them. "Stay close to me, though, these things get really busy and there get to be a lot of creeps. I don't want anyone groping you that isn't me."

Loki laughed a bit at that and stood next to Tony on the crowded train, taking hold of his arm so they could ride together while more people gathered onto the train. She held Tony tightly, gasping as the train lurched into motion, speeding through the tunnels beneath the ground. She ended up wrapping her arms around Tony's abdomen to keep steady against him. The train had a terrible habit of lurching into motion, then lurching to a stop, only to start once again. It was hard to keep balance and shift her weight with the movement of the subway, especially in the heels she was wearing.

Finally, Tony led her off of the train and out of the underground station. When they got back up to the surface, she was amazed to see they were just across the street from the large park and grove of trees. She walked with Tony into the large section of green in the rather grey metropolis. Immediately, the park seemed much more peaceful than the rest of the city. People were walking around, relaxing on the ground, exercising. Loki tugged Tony deeper into the grove when she heard what seemed like music and got intrigued. When they got closer, she saw a small crowd around a woman singing. The most intriguing part, though, was that the woman seemed to have set a love poem to music. It wasn't any sort of traditional song or a drinking song, and was nothing she'd ever heard before. She stood and watched in amazement as the woman seemed to pour her soul out into the song that seemed to grieve a lost relationship, that begged to have the lover just one last time.

Tony sighed when Loki dragged him off without a word. He didn't mind following her around too much. At the very least, he got a nice view, especially when she wore those heels she always seemed to have on in her female form. He didn't pay much attention to the lady singing. Street performers were everywhere. Sure, the woman singing was pretty good. He couldn't speak to how loyal she was to the original song, since he didn't listen to Ariana Grande, really ever. He glanced over at Loki, who seemed totally entranced by the music, though, as if the God had never seen or heard anything like it. He sighed softly though his nose, content to just watch her face and the expression of genuine wonder and curiosity on her face. For a second, he wondered if he ought to buy some similar music so she could listen and enjoy it. He quickly retracted though, knowing Loki only had that day and the next before the god left to return home to Asgard. He didn't want to have too much pop music randomly playing on his shuffle as he worked after Loki was gone and when life went back to normal. He'd prefer not to have anything that would remind him of the woman standing next to him.

The woman singing finished up with her song, and the small crowd clapped, dropped some money in the briefcase near where the woman was standing. Tony dropped a ten dollar bill he had in his pocket in before gently leading Loki away.

"That was amazing, what was it?" Loki asked curiously, keeping her attention on Tony.

"A street performer. There are lots of them around this city, some of them are better than others." Tony replied with a small shrug.

"So, they just go out and sing on a whim?"

"Yeah, or they play instruments or do some sort of talent. A lot of them come to this park."

"That's fascinating." Loki hummed.

As Tony thought, Loki ended up stopping to watch almost all the street performers they came across as they walked through the park together. He almost had to take a picture of her face when she discovered a group of rappers. He watched as she was seated by another woman on a stool so she could braid green ribbons intricately into her dark hair while a few little girls got the same treatment by a couple other ladies. Loki smiled happily up at Tony and chatted with him and the other woman. Tony wondered if he'd ever seen someone smile so brightly before. The smile seemed to almost brighten the world around her. He could have sworn it got a bit sunnier when he caught sight of those perfect, white teeth. It was like the world got a bit happier when her green eyes glittered. Tony had to admit, when the thick French braid was done, it looked very pretty. It suited Loki well.

He paid the women and walked off with the happy god. He bought her food when they both decided they were hungry.

"You're sure there's no canine in this?" Loki asked as she sat next to Tony on a bench.

"Positive. I don't know why it's called a hot dog, though." Tony replied as he started to eat.

"And this is traditional to Midgard?" She asked, examining the odd-looking sausage curiously.

"More like America. Other places have regular sausages, but I'm pretty sure hot dogs are an American thing."

"It is safe to eat, right?"

"Oh yeah."

Loki nodded and watched as Tony ate his hot dog before taking a deep breath and biting into her own. She chewed slowly to try and decide what she thought of the taste of the odd bread-wrapped sausage. "I suppose it isn't half bad."

Tony smiled at that and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they ate together contently for a while. It didn't take them long to finish at all, and they soon headed back to the tower.

Loki took his usual male form once they were alone in the penthouse once more, rolling out his ankles from spending a day in heels. He yawned tiredly, letting his clothes morph into loungewear on his body for the rest of the night.

"God damn that was a long day. Let's make a pact right now to take it a bit easier tomorrow." Tony said as he moved over to turn on the news on the TV before dragging Loki over to sit with him on the couch.

"We'll see." Loki replied with a small smirk, laughing when the man next to him groaned in exasperation. Loki grinned and draped his arms around Tony's shoulders, holding him gently.

"Well, I guess there's no harm in one last romp or two before you head out. Tomorrow, though, I'm not really feeling it tonight." Tony sighed, reaching up to ruffle Loki's dark hair.

"The famous Tony Stark wants a night without sex. Norns, what is the universe coming to?" Loki hummed, letting Tony guide his head down to rest on his shoulder.

"Who knows anymore? It's only getting weirder, Lolo. The next thing we know, I'll be in a committed relationship. Fuck, maybe even happily married. Wouldn't that be the day?" Tony laughed as they rested together.

"I wonder what kind of person it would ever take to make you settle down. It would have to be one Hel of a person."

"Exactly, but, you're not really one to talk, Mr. I've-Had-Children-With-Four-People. At least I don't have any kids, that I know of."

"That you know of. What if someone came forward one day with a kid they said was yours?"

"God damn, I don't know. I'd get a paternity test, I guess. Double check to make sure, first."

"You can test that?"

"Yeah. You guys don't know what DNA or anything is in Asgard-land?"

"Asgard," Loki corrected. "And, no. I've never heard of a DNA before in all my years."

"Well, it stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. It's a self-replicating material found in all living things that carries your genetic information. It helps you identify yourself. You can use it in crime scenes to find the perpetrator, and you can use it to see if you fathered a child or not."

Loki listened curiously, humming in understanding. "Where do you find someone's DNA?"

"You can find it in samples of hair or saliva or blood or skin. Kids in schools will swab off a bit of skin from inside their cheeks, then look at it under a microscope." Tony explained.

Loki nodded as he listened. "That's fascinating. Do you think my DNA would be very different from yours or Thor's?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. Everyone's DNA is unique to them. Thor has genes from his parents, and you have genes from your own and I have mine from mine. They'll all be very different. That's not a bad thing, though. It makes you you."

Loki nodded again and smiled softly as he rested with Tony. "I understand." He hummed tiredly, resting against the other man. He stayed there with Tony as his turned on the TV to watch the news mindlessly.

"Damn, we look good together." Tony sighed as they showed pictures of him and Loki from that day. He smiled over to hear Loki's response, smiling a bit more when he saw the god sleeping peacefully against him.

Tony turned off the TV and picked the lanky god up into his arms, carrying him bridal style back to their bedroom so they could sleep for the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Tony woke first, curled around Loki with their legs tangled together. He hummed contently and kissed the nape of the god's neck, gently slipping his hands up the back of Loki's shirt to feel at the cool, smooth planes of his back.

Loki stirred and whined a bit as Tony woke him with the kisses and touches. "Mmm, Stark…" he mumbled drowsily, gasping a bit as the other man started to kiss at the side of his neck.

"Good morning, princess. Did you dream of me?" Tony replied with a smirk before he nipped Loki's neck.

Loki gasped and sighed as Tony nipped him while feeling around his back, sides, and stomach. "Ah, I didn't really dream at all, honestly."

"Well, hopefully I can change that for tonight." Tony replied, gently turning Loki over to lie on his back before climbing on top of him. He wasted no time and started to kiss him deeply and passionately, sliding himself and his lover out of their clothes. In only a second or two, he had his hands wandering all over Loki's body, touching every sensitive area he could reach and caressing all the others.

Loki didn't take long to get excited and start moaning and whining beneath him. When he figured Loki was ready, Tony grabbed the lube and spread it over three of his fingers.

"Ready, Lokes?" He asked, positioning two fingers at the god's entrance.

"Yes, I am." Loki replied, spreading his legs a bit wider for Tony. He reached up to run his fingers through the other's hair adoringly, only pausing to moan out as the first pair of fingers pushed into him. He panted softly and gathered his bearings again before continuing to happily play with Tony's hair, moaning happily as the other man moved the fingers around and slowly worked him open. The third finger didn't come too long after, making Loki struggle once again to gather his bearings as he held onto the other man.

Tony smiled as he watched Loki beneath him while he moved the three fingers. The sunlight streaming into the room seemed to give the god a sort of halo, and a beautiful glow. At that hour, he knew there were probably thousands of people on their way to work. The streets were probably crowded and on the verge of jamming. The subways were probably packed to the brim, and everyone was probably stressing about getting to work on time. The people who weren't stressed, were probably adding to the growing lines in each and every Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts along the streets.

He, however, got to lie on top of one of the most beautiful men he'd ever seen, let alone a god. He got to have an eternally young Norse god lying underneath him, his cheeks flushed pink with pleasure as he moaned out excitedly. He was probably one of the luckiest men in the world, if not the luckiest.

"…-ony? Tony, come back to me." Loki said, breaking his lover out of his trance when he caught Tony just staring down at him with a dopey smile across his lips.

"Oh, shit, sorry. I zoned for a second." Tony said with a small laugh. "You think you're ready, babe?"

"I think so, yes." Loki replied with a small smile back up at Tony.

Tony nodded and pulled the fingers out so he could get his cock ready. When he was satisfied, he lifted Loki's legs up to rest on his shoulders, practically bending his god in half as he pushed into him slowly and leaned down to kiss his lips.

Loki moaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Tony's shoulders tightly to hold the other man down against him. He moaned as Tony began to move, and soon began rocking his own hips in time, meeting each deep thrust. He smiled happily all the while, listening to Tony breathe and moan out his name like a prayer. He couldn't help but notice something different in the way they had sex that time around. It seemed much more tender and loving. It was like they'd both decided to focus on each other rather than their orgasms. Tony's kisses even seemed much more adoring and loving than they had on their first night together.

Loki was brought back to reality when he felt Tony shift his angle a bit, then hit his prostate with pinpoint accuracy. He gasped and mewled with ecstasy at the feeling. "Ah, right there, Tony, right there!" he moaned out to the other man heatedly.

Tony grinned at the cries and kept his angle to continue hitting that spot for Loki. He loved the way the other clenched around him as he got closer and closer to climaxing. He could feel his own climax building up rather quickly, but he forced himself to keep going until Loki finished. He wanted to finish with him.

Thankfully, Loki didn't last much longer than a few more hard thrusts and a couple pinches and tugs at his nipples. The god came hard, cursing out in a language Tony didn't understand and sighing his name. Tony came into Loki with a groan of pleasure.

They both took a while to come down from their post-sex highs, panting heavily as they held each other close. "That was a good way to wake me up. Better than coffee." Loki breathed after a bit.

Tony laughed and kissed the god's lips softly. "I completely agree. Now, why don't we take a shower and figure out what we're doing today? If you don't mind, I think I have a few ideas."

Loki nodded and sighed as Tony pulled out of him. He let the other lift him into his arms and carry him off to the bathrooms where they could shower together.

"So, what are these ideas of yours?" he asked curiously as Tony sat him on the countertop while the other got the water running and warming up for the two of them.

"I was thinking, we could shower up, get dressed, then have breakfast somewhere. You've had pizza, Chinese, and hot dogs, but there's one last thing you need to eat to have the full New York City experience." Tony explained with a small smirk to Loki.

Loki frowned a bit at the cryptic reply, cocking an eyebrow at Tony, watching the other man curiously. "Oh? What would that be?"

"Dunkin' Donuts. We're going for coffee and donuts for breakfast."

"What, pray tell, is a dough nut?"

"It's kind of like a breakfast pastry, but not bougie. It's awesome, trust me."

Loki sighed a bit at the less-than-comprehensive reply. He got into the shower with Tony easily, letting the human wash off his body and clean him out while worshipping every inch of his pale skin. "Shall I take my female form again today?"

"If you want to. I think you can get by in this one, though, and maybe a pair of sunglasses. God damn, you would look super cool in a leather jacket." Tony replied, thinking aloud about what the god would look good in while trying to pass as a regular Earthling.

Loki just hummed in reply, figuring he'd find a picture of a generally fashionable Midgardian from a magazine or something and copy the outfit onto his own body.

Tony gave Loki a Stark Pad to let him look through pictures of fashionable casual clothing while he got dressed in an old pair of jeans and an old band t-shirt. He didn't mind putting much less effort into himself than Loki. The god seemed determined to look effortlessly expensive. When he finally turned around to look at Loki, the god had donned a dark green Henley shirt, a black cardigan, black skinny jeans, with a black scarf wound around his neck.

"Nice. Now, lets get you some shades." Tony said, moving to look through his collection of sunglasses. He refused to admit he had a problem with buying too many of them. Sure, some of them were similar in style, but they were all unique. Loki seemed pretty set on looking as casually fancy as possible, so he decided on a pair of Coach aviators, sliding them onto the god's face.

"There we go, that's the look. Now we're ready to take on the world." Tony said with a grin to Loki, helping him up from the bed. With that, he grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys. He grabbed a leather jacket to protect himself from the brisk morning air, and lead Loki into an elevator.

"Now, like yesterday, don't go wandering off on me. The walk isn't too far, just a block or so." Tony said to Loki, taking the god by the hand and leading him out of the elevator and the building when they reached the ground floor. From their position on Park Avenue, he only had to turn a left at an intersection and walk a block to the nearest Dunkin' Donuts shop.

"You said these things were pastries?" Loki asked as they walked down the block together.

"Yeah, they are. It's dough shaped in a ring and deep fried." Tony hummed in reply.

"'Deep Fried?'" Loki repeated confusedly.

"It's a cooking technique. Not the best for your body, but it definitely tastes good." Tony said, opening the door for the God and following him inside. He smiled at the nice view he got of the god's backside, happy to tell himself that, even for a few nights, that ass had been his.

"I think I understand." Loki replied as he walked into the building and pushed his sunglasses up onto his head, looking around the shop curiously. He let Tony grab his hand and lead him to the front of the shop. He marveled at the large display of ring-shaped pastries, all of them looking different with their various colored toppings. He considered the large amount of options for a while, getting one glazed and one with chocolate icing. He had Tony order for the two of them, letting the other man get him a soy latte to go with the donuts.

"He's not from around here. Interns from Norway and all that." Tony said to the teenager behind the register that was giving Loki an odd look.

The cashier just nodded and finished ringing the pair of men up, giving them their donuts and cups of coffee.

"Oh, this is very hot." Loki breathed as he took the cup of coffee.

"Don't hurt yourself, buddy." Tony said, patting Loki's backside and leading him over to sit down at a little table for the two of them.

Loki sat down across from Tony. He let his fingertips go blue and pressed them to the warm cup, cooling down the hot coffee inside so he could drink it right away.

"Well, that's handy." Tony hummed as he watched the god cool down his drink. He happily got his phone out to take a video of Loki trying a donut for the first time. He watched happily as Loki took a bite of the chocolate one, chewed it thoughtfully for a bit.

"It's good, I like it." Loki decided after swallowing, smiling at the grin the spread over Tony's face before the man put his phone away once again.

"Earth isn't too shabby, now is it?"

"It's not at all what I'm used to. But I suppose it's nice in its own way."

Tony smiled and laughed a bit and went back to eating with Loki and drinking coffee with him in the little shop. They finished as it started to get crowded, and Loki slipped his sunglasses over his green eyes after Tony did the same, holding his hand and leaving the shop.

"Now, for the last part of today before you fly away home. How'd you like to see this place from above?" Tony asked, peering over the top of his sunglasses.

"That depends on how you mean." Loki replied as they walked and talked together.

"Do you mind if I show you? It's hard to put into words."

"I suppose I don't mind."

"Great."

With that, Tony pushed up his sleeve and pushed a button that he wore on his wrist, signaling the briefcase he carried to morph into his suit of armor around his body. Loki stepped back to watch the armor put itself on until it entirely covered the man's body.

"Do you trust me?" Tony asked, smiling behind the metal mask as he took Loki into his arms.

"You've seen me nude multiple times. I think I do." Loki replied, smirking a bit and wrapping his arms securely around Tony's neck. He let Tony hold him tight by the waist, lifting him slowly off the ground.

Loki gasped and smiled in exhilaration, wrapping and locking his legs around Tony's waist to hold onto him as tightly as possible. He watched the views of the city around him change as they rose higher and higher into the air, until their altitude rivaled the Empire State Building.

"Do you do this with people often?" Loki asked.

"Only the special ones." Tony admitted before starting to fly around with the god clinging to him like a baby koala. He wove between the tall glass buildings, smiling as Loki would look over to marvel at the reflection of the two of them on the walls made of windows. He carried him through the buildings, over central park, and flew low near the water over the North Atlantic Ocean.

Loki grinned and laughed, unhooking one arm from Tony's neck to reach down and dip his fingers into the cool water as they passed over it. With a grin, He flicked some of the water on his fingers onto the golden face of Tony's mask.

"Oh my god, I can't believe you would do that to me. After I shared my home with you." Tony sighed melodramatically, bringing Loki back up into the air over the city and just hovering there for a second as the god's giggles died down.

"This is very, very nice, Tony. Thank you." Loki sighed, marveling over the vast city of tall buildings that never seemed to end.

Tony smiled and let the mask open as they just hovered in place there. "It's not a problem, Lolo. I just figured I'd better show you how nice Earth can be, so you don't bring an army of aliens with you the next time you visit."

"I think you saved yourself from that. I don't think that will ever happen again."

"Good. You're pretty cute, when you're not plotting to destroy us all."

Loki laughed and leaned over to kiss Tony's cheek before he rested his head on the other's shoulder. "You're rather handsome when you're not being a snarky bastard."

"Oh, come on. I'm handsome even when I'm a snarky bastard."

Loki laughed again, grinning happily as he rested against the other man. "Part of me almost doesn't want to leave this place."

"Did I sell the idea of Earth to you?"

"Perhaps. Earth, leisurely living, wonderful sex, good food. I'll be going home to take over the role as Allfather again. Ruling isn't at all what I thought it would be. They romanticize it far too much, I think. Everyone has problems they expect me to deal with, instead of figuring it out for themselves."

"Is the real Allfather dead?"

"No, he's just in Odinsleep, but no one figured it out, because I was there."

"What's Odinsleep? Is he just napping?"

"For a prolonged amount of time, yes."

"Wait, so your ruler periodically just goes into a coma and everyone just says 'Oh, same old shit as always?'"

"Essentially, yes. He's a very old man, and golden apples only do so much. He has a lot of power and stress. Odinsleep is necessary for him to continue on."

"Huh. Well, is there anything I can do to convince you to at least come back sometime?"

"You could kiss me."

Tony smiled and laughed before obediently kissing Loki's lips warmly and lovingly.

"I'd probably come back around, even if you didn't kiss me." Loki admitted after they parted, smirking at Tony.

"And they call me a player." Tony rolled his eyes, lowering the mask again and carrying Loki back to the tower. He landed down on the landing pad and set Loki down so the suit could take itself off as they walked inside together.

Loki walked in and moved to pack up the books he'd had Tony buy for him into a bag he conjured up.

"I suppose I'd better head home now." He said, slinging the bag across his shoulders.

"I guess so. Do you have any way I could call you or anything?" Tony replied, rather hesitant to see Loki go.

"You could pray to me. I hear every prayer that's directed towards me. I don't get too many anymore, not since the Christians took over the north and the Vikings died out. However, there are a few Neo-Pagans who still pray to me. I'll hear your prayer and, if I'm able, I can send a projection of myself here to speak with you." Loki explained, gently taking Tony's hand.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Don't be a stranger, okay?"

"Of course not."

Loki kissed Tony's lips one last time before disappearing in a cloud of green mist.

Tony sighed when the mist dissipated and there was nothing left of the God in the room, leaving it feeling quieter and emptier than it ever had before.

"Baby, I don't care if you got her in your heart. All I really care is you wake up in my arms. One last time, I need to be the one who takes you home…" Tony sang softly to himself, the song stuck in his head as he wandered off to tinker in his workshop.


	6. Chapter 6

Loki could still feel Tony's lips on his own as he appeared back in his old bedroom in the Asgardian palace. He quickly shifted forms to take the appearance of a palace maid before slipping out of the room to inspect what had happened and changed in the palace without being noticed. No one ever paid much attention to maids, anyways.

He made sure he looked similar to the rest of the maids, with an identical uniform dress, long blonde braids, and bright blue eyes. Once content, he made his way through the palace, trying to find out any information he could without being caught. Deciding it was the best place to start, he found his way over to the Allfather's quarters and quietly let himself into the room, frowning when he found the bed empty. The Odinsleep had ended sometime when he'd been gone and it more than likely wasn't a perfect merge between the time he left and the time Odin woke up. Odin would know he'd been in Odinsleep and Odin was no man's fool. He'd know what had happened the moment he learned that he'd supposedly been ruling the realm while sleeping.

Loki slipped back out of the room and frowned a bit, making his way around the palace to eavesdrop and see if he could hear any sort of information on what the Allfather and other Aesir were thinking and feeling. He only picked up a bit of gossip from the other maids. They only said one or two things, though, that he couldn't have figured out for himself.

Odin and the rest of the realm knew they'd been governed by an imposter for a short period of time, though there was no clear consensus on the culprit of the crime. He sighed and decided to walk back to his bedroom, freezing in shock to find the room occupied.

Thor looked up from his spot on his brother's bed, blinking at the sight of the maid before relaxing. "Oh, hello. You can come in."

"I'm sorry, my Prince, I didn't think you'd be in here. I hope I'm not disturbing you." Loki replied innocently as he walked into the room, closing the door gently behind him.

"No, it's no trouble. I'm rather happy you're here, anyways. This room is getting dusty, it's not what Loki would have wanted." Thor said with a soft smile that made Loki feel something like sympathy before wondering if his few days with Stark had turned him soft.

"No, I suppose not." He replied with a small smile in reply before moving to start dusting and cleaning the room. Thor was right, it really was a mess and the dust made him sneeze multiple times.

"Here, let me help you. It's a big room and Norns know Loki had a lot of books." Thor said, moving to stand by the maid and take a duster from her apron.

"You really don't need to, my prince. There are other, more important things for you to worry about."

"I know, but I want to worry about this, at least for a little while. This room is how I remember him."

Loki fell silent and glanced over at Thor as they worked side by side, starting to consider the consequences of finally telling his brother the truth.

"You must really miss your brother. For him to go so soon after your mother…. The Norns can be so cruel." Loki said softly.

"I do. I miss them both deeply." Thor nodded. "When we were small, Loki was so timid and gentle. I used to get so annoyed with him, with his crying, and with how he'd always cling to me and follow me around. I'd give anything to have those days back now."

"Are you sure you don't want me to leave you alone, your majesty?"

Thor just laughed and shook his head. "You can stay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable at all."

"No, it's fine. There's nothing wrong with remembering the dead. Sometimes the best thing you can do is talk about them."

Thor nodded and smiled at the maid a bit wider before starting in on more stories while they worked together to clean the room until he was called out to meet with Odin.

Loki shifted forms once again when Thor left the room and sighed a bit, going to the chest at the end of his bed and starting to dig through it. He found some old clothes from his childhood and pulled them out, then grabbing a sheet off his bed and using it to make a bag to hold the clothes and sling over his shoulder.

Odin would likely find out he was alive eventually, and he could be put to death for impersonating the king. So, he would get one person he knew he couldn't possibly leave behind again, and get back to safety.

He slipped out of the room once again and made his way through the hallway, momentarily hesitating outside of Thor's room. After a couple seconds, he slipped inside the room long enough to write a note that read, 'Find me with a Man of Iron.'

From there, Loki transported himself into the Asgardian royal stables, landing in a bed of hay next to a sleeping gray, eight-legged stallion. He moved silently so he wouldn't get caught, softly casting spell after spell to weaken the magically reinforced cuffs around the stallion's ankles.

Sleipnir woke up when Loki touched his legs and eventually freed him. The horse got excited but calmed down again when Loki shushed him and stroked his coat.

"Hello, dear heart. Mama's here, I'm going to get you out. You do need to turn into a little boy though, alright? Can you do that for me?" Loki crooned to the horse who seemed to understand and almost immediately shifted forms into that of a small child.

"M-! M-!" He hummed, reaching up with small hands to his mother, having dreamt of the day they'd be together again.

Loki smiled and scooped the naked, freckly little boy into his arms and cradled him close, quietly transporting them out to an empty field outside the Asgardian city.

"My little man. I'm so sorry, honey. I should have come for you sooner." Loki sighed, cradling the boy close and stroking his silver hair as the little boy held him tightly by the back of his shirt and continued to hum in reply.

"Here, Sleip, I have something for you." Loki hummed, moving the boy a bit so he could fish out the small outfit from his bag and clothe his son in it. "There you are. You're so handsome."

"M-! M-!" Sleipnir replied, bouncing excitedly as he let his mother put him in the gifts he'd given him, then reaching his arms out again for him.

Loki held Sleipnir once again and kissed his cheeks lovingly. "Go run and play for a bit, honey. Just stay close by."

Sleipnir nodded and happily started to explore the little meadow area around them. He wasn't much good at walking on two legs and would have to learn how to walk and talk properly. However, the boy wasn't a quitter and kept getting back up to toddle a few more steps around before falling again. It took him a considerable amount of time to get to the little yellow flower he'd spotted, pick it, and then carry it safely back to his mother.

Loki grinned as he watched his son play and run about in the sun like he was meant to like all children were meant to. He took the little flower Sleipnir gave him and peppered the boy's cheeks with kisses, making the child squeal with delight and giggle.

When Sleipnir tired himself out, he crawled back over to his mother and curled up in his lap. Once Loki had his arms around him and was cradling him sweetly, he pressed his ear to the center of his mother's chest and fell asleep to the sound of his beating heart.

Loki held Sleipnir close and wrapped the boy up in the sheet from his bed. With that, he transported the two of them out of that realm and into the living room of Tony Stark's penthouse. He got up from the floor with his sleeping son and held him close, knowing that, at the very least, Sleipnir would be protected by Midgardian laws while they were there.

"Well, Mr. Hanson can shove that Blackberry up his ass and start living in the modern age, I know that for sure." Tony griped as he walked out of the elevator, stopping completely when he saw Loki in his living room with a little boy sleeping in his arms. "Hey, I'm going to need to call you later, alright? Yeah, bye."

"Hello again, Tony. Did you miss me?" Loki asked with a grin.

"You know, when I told you not to be a stranger, I didn't think you'd be back right away. Looks like you're the one who missed me, Lolo." Tony replied, setting his phone aside and taking off his shoes to walk over to the God.

"Maybe so. You definitely missed me, though."

"Oh? And what makes you think that?"

"The way you kissed me that last time. It was like you wanted me to stay."

Tony just blinked and shrugged in reply. "Who's the kid?"

"This is Sleipnir, my son."

"Oh, right, the horse one. You really went out and got him on your own, huh?"

Loki nodded and smiled a bit as the boy hummed in his sleep and snuggled further into him. "Yes, I did. He's where he belongs now. I figured Midgard is the best place for him because he's protected by Midgardian laws, just in case."

Tony nodded and looked at the freckly, sleeping little boy in Loki's arms. The kid didn't look like he was much older than five or six. "You're probably right. People can't just kidnap a child here. Is that the only reason why you came back?"

"No, of course not. The Allfather woke up in my absence. It's only a matter of time before they come after me. I feel rather safe here, and I know my Man of Iron will protect me." Loki said, teasing Tony with a grin.

"Well, why don't we put your little baby in a guest room to sleep for now, and I can welcome you back properly?" Tony hummed, smiling back at Loki, who nodded and walked with Tony back to a guest room where they tucked Sleipnir into a bed. He kissed the boy's forehead and walked out of the room with Tony.

Once they were back in the hall, Tony grabbed Loki and pulled the God against him before starting to kiss him passionately, pushing the God back into the wall. Loki was compliant right away and happily wrapped his arms and legs around Tony to cling to him as the man carried him out to the living room and plopped him down on the couch.

"Goddamn, Lolo, You don't know what you do to me." Tony hummed, climbing on top of the god.

"I might be able to guess." Loki laughed, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Tony's hair before pulling the man's face down for another kiss.

Tony kissed Loki deeply and lovingly, slipping his hands up the other's shirt to feel at him and gently rub at the other's nipples to get him moaning and whining so beautifully underneath him once again.

The moments lasted until a harsh roll of thunder seemed to shake the room, making the pair jump and scaring Sleipnir awake. The boy bawled out of fear as lightning lit up the sky, holding out his arms when his mother rushed to the room to comfort him.

"The weather guy didn't say there was any big chance of thunderstorms today…" Tony said, following Loki to the guest room and lingering in the doorway.

Loki just bounced and crooned gently to Sleipnir to calm his son down as the rain began to pour outside. "Originally, there probably wasn't," he replied to Tony, jumping a bit at the sound of someone pounding on the glass from the balcony. His shock only upset Sleipnir again and made the boy start to cry out of fear.

Tony sighed and kissed Loki once on the cheek before walking out to the balcony where he saw Thor pounding on his glass door rather urgently. He cocked an eyebrow at him but decided to let him in before the Thunder God broke down his door.

"What's up, Hammer Time? You look like my place is a Target and it's Black Friday or something." Tony asked with a small frown as Thor walked in.

"Where is he?" Thor demanded.

"You're gonna have to be a lot more specific."

"Loki, where is Loki?"

Tony opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't get a word out before Thor shoved past him as Loki walked into the room with Sleipnir held in his arms.

"Dick." He grumbled, frowning a bit and getting prepared to step in in case Loki or Sleipnir needed defending.

Thor walked up to Loki and stopped just in front of his brother. His hair was shorter than he remembered it being.

Thor had no idea what to feel. On one hand, he wanted to cry with joy and relief and hug his baby brother once again. On the other hand, he wanted to slap Loki for making him go through the pain of believing he'd truly lost his brother. However, he couldn't bring himself to slap his brother in front of a small child, who looked terrified enough already. So, he went with his first option and pulled Loki into a big hug, lifting the other from the ground, laughing and starting to cry with happiness.

"It's you! It's really you, baby brother! By the Nine, you're alive! You cut your hair! You have a little baby!" Thor gasped, admiring the sight of his little brother before hugging him once again. "Loki, what happened? Why did you feign death? Who did you have a baby with? It wasn't Stark, was it?"

"Thor, shut up for a second." Loki snapped, cutting off his brother's rambling as he bounced Sleipnir in his arms. "Tony, do you mind getting Sleip something to drink? Milk or fruit juice or something, please?"

"I might be able to handle that," Tony said, taking Sleipnir from Loki and letting the boy cling to him while the gods talked and caught up. He quickly realized how little he knew about kids once he was alone with one. "So, uh, Sleip? What do you want to drink, buddy?"

Sleipnir said nothing and just stared up at Tony as if he was running a total scan on him.

"Not much of a talker, huh? Okay, just point to which one you want." Tony said, opening the refrigerator to show the boy a gallon of milk and a small bottle of apple juice. Sleipnir pointed at the bottle of apple juice.

Tony nodded and set the boy down on the counter so he could pour him a glass of the juice. "There you go, little man. Bottoms up."

He watched as Sleipnir took the juice and started to drink it, dribbling some down his shirt, then pausing the stare down at the mess, as if wondering how it got there. Tony chuckled and grabbed a napkin to clean the boy up. "Hey, no worries. It happens to the best of us, Champ."

Sleipnir seemed to consider that for a bit before starting to drink the juice again, staying quiet with Tony until Thor and Loki started shouting in the other room, the outburst making him jump.

Tony looked up when he heard the gods shouting, taking a second to register that they weren't speaking English anymore. "Hey, don't worry about it too much, kiddo. I'm sure they're just blowing off steam." He reassured the boy, peering around the corner just in time to see Loki's fist connect with Thor's nose. "Your Mom has a lot of steam to blow off."

He continued watching, wondering if he had to intervene soon. He'd grab Loki and drag him away if he needed to stop a fight between gods. From what he'd heard, the last fight the two had leveled a small town in New Mexico. He would have preferred to keep his tower intact.

Thor, however, didn't seem mad about his newly broken nose. The man just laughed heartily, snapped his nose back into place easily, then wrapped his arms around Loki's middle, picking his brother up and draping him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Oh, Little Brother! You always were a little spitfire!" Thor laughed as he bounced his brother while Loki pounded at Thor's back with his fists. He walked to the kitchen with Loki in his arms before setting him down on the ground once again.

"So, Stark! When did you become my brother's lover?" Thor boomed happily, grinning brightly at Tony.

"About four days ago," Tony replied honestly.

"Norns, and you said I was acting too quickly with Jane after I'd spent months with her," Thor said, ruffling Loki's dark hair. "Now, here you are by Stark's side, raising a child with him. Where'd that boy come from, anyways."

"Thor, that's Sleipnir, your nephew," Loki said with a sigh, moving from Thor's side to take his son into his arms again.

"Sleipnir? Oh, yes! Now I remember! He's the little boy you bore with a horse." Thor recalled, having not seen the boy as a boy since he was a newborn baby.

"Yes, thank you for the reminder." Loki spat back.

"I'm sorry, I just can't help but laugh at the thought that you could ever be mounted by a horse." Thor chuckled.

Loki didn't seem to find the memory funny at all, his face going red before he brought his knee up between his brother's legs, hard.

Tony winced before wrapping an arm around Loki's waist to guide him back and hold him in his arms. "Easy, Lolo. I'll admit, he deserved that one, but don't hurt your brother too bad. I think that's enough, especially in front of the kid."

"If you ever bring up his parentage again, I'll make sure you never sire a child," Loki growled down to Thor from Tony's arms.

"Hey, deep breaths, Lolo. Calm down, Princess." Tony said, gently taking Loki's chin and turning his head to look into his green eyes before reaching behind him and stroking his dark hair. The actions seemed to work and Loki relaxed visibly against Tony.

"Perhaps it's time for me to leave. I don't want to anger my brother any further. I'll return again soon. I can't promise I'll be alone, though. It's only a matter of time until Father finds out if he hasn't already." Thor said with a sigh as he stood back up, assessing the sight of his brother in Tony Stark's arms. "Stark. Loki has chosen you to be his partner. If I hear that you have hurt my baby brother in any way, you face the wrath of Asgard. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, MC Hammer," Tony replied.

Thor seemed momentarily confused by the name but didn't question it. "Good. I'll be checking in to make sure you're treating him well."

"Duly noted. Now get out of my house, I have stuff to talk to Loki about. We're about get really busy for a while."

"Oh?" Loki asked with a smirk. "Should I put Sleipnir down for a nap?"

"Sadly not that kind of busy, Princess," Tony replied, reaching down quickly pinch his backside. "Maybe you'll get lucky later, though."

Loki smiled and laughed a bit at the pinch, and laughed more at the mortified look on Thor's face from witnessing their flirting.

"I'll take my leave, then." Thor sighed, turning to go back out to the balcony and leave the pair alone for a while.

Loki was still chuckling happily as Thor took off into the sky again, his laughter making Sleipnir giggle in his arms as well.

"Alright, Lolo. Let's have a chat, shall we?" Tony said, guiding the God over to the couch to sit with him.

"What shall we talk about?" Loki asked, smiling as he sat by Tony's side with Sleipnir in his lap, the boy falling asleep once again in his arms.

"Your future here. Your plan, if you even have one. Whatever is going on with us."

"It sounds like a pain in the ass."

"It probably will be. It's a necessary pain in the ass, though." Tony sighed, wondering if he could get Loki to magic up a cold glass of Everclear.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony took a deep breath and massaged his temples before starting. "Let's start with problem number one, huh? I'm not used to committed relationships. I'm not a good person to get in a committed relationship with. I'm gonna fuck it all up."

"How do you know that, Tony?" Loki asked with a small frown.

"I just do, Lolo. Christ, even Pepper couldn't take any more of my shit, and she was the most used to it. Look, I don't want to hurt you or your kid. You're the last person I ever want to piss off, especially since you tossed me out a window the last time I did." Tony said, trying to gauge Loki's expression, though the other's emerald eyes were unreadable. "I don't want to hurt you, Loki. I like having you around and I like talking to you. I don't want to lose you, but losing you because I pushed you away would be worse."

"So, what you're saying is, you're afraid. You fear you'll hurt me or Sleipnir and end whatever it is we have right now." Loki said, holding eye contact with the other man. "Tony Stark, if you live in fear of the end of relationships, then you'll never be able to enjoy them while they last. Everyone goes into relationships knowing that they'll either come to painful end or that they'll end up staying together for the rest of their lives."

Tony sighed as he listened to Loki, figuring the god had a point. "Okay, fine. Let's move on to the second point, then. I'm not going to be a good enough dad to this kid."

"Tony…" Loki sighed with exasperation.

"No, no, hear me out here. This place isn't that great for a little kid. Do you know how many god damn mini bars are in here? That's dangerous. Plus, I have no idea how to be a dad, I don't know the first thing about little kids. I'm gonna fuck up, Lolo, and your kid's gonna end up hating me."

"I don't expect you to be the perfect father figure to him. I don't expect you to be a father figure to him right away. I want you to at least try to be his friend." Loki explained after a moment of thought. "Perhaps we should start everything by figuring out what's going on between the two of us, though."

"Yeah, okay. Baby steps." Tony agreed with a nod, taking a deep breath to steady himself. "What do you want us to be, Lolo?"

"Honestly? I want to court you. I want to be more than a bedmate to you." Loki replied, keeping eye contact with Tony.

"Okay. In that case, we're dating now. We're together." Tony concluded, fishing his phone out from his pocket and wrapping an arm around Loki's shoulders to pull the god close. "Say cheese."

"Why would I say that?" Loki asked in confusion, staring at his image on the screen of the phone as Tony kissed his cheek and pressed the little circle on the screen.

"There, now it's locked forever in the void of time. Hey, FRIDAY, put an order in for a bunch of furniture for a little boy's room. Maybe steer away from anything with horse motifs, though." Tony said.

"Will IKEA suffice, sir?" The female voice responded from the ceiling.

"Hell no. Not unless someone else is putting it all together." Tony replied. "Actually, scratch that. Just order me a shit ton of oak. I can make everything myself and better. I'll need enough for a bed, dresser, desk, and a small bookshelf for the kid. Then a bigger bookshelf for our room. Loki's a nerd, he needs somewhere to store his books."

"I'm a what?" Loki asked in confusion as Tony grabbed a tablet and stylus from the table.

"You're a nerd, Princess. But, it's okay, I kind of am, too." Tony hummed. "When he wakes up, I'll have him help me design how he wants his furniture to look. For now, we can start on your bookshelf."

"Firstly, it's a bookshelf. Make it large with shelves, it's not that complicated. Secondly, Sleipnir can't talk. How will he give his input on anything?" Loki said with a small smile as he stroked his son's hair.

"He can nod or shake his head or something. I'm pretty sure he understands me." Tony replied, playing around on the tablet and starting to sketch out a design for the bookshelf.

Loki just hummed, figuring Tony was probably right and leaning over to watch him sketch on the tablet. "You should put a design on the sides and decorate it a bit more."

"What kind of design are we talking? The Fireball logo?" Tony asked with a small smile.

Loki cocked an eyebrow at Tony in confusion. "No. I think Yggdrasil would be nice."

"Don't know if I know how to draw that one."

Loki held up his hand, then closed and opened it, conjuring up an image of a ring with a tree inside of it in green mist so Tony could see. The design was intricate with lots of interlacing around it.

"Okay, maybe I can find something like that online," Tony said, drawing a circle on the side of the design for the shelf and a crude tree on the inside of the circle.

"I think animal heads on the top would be a nice touch," Loki said.

"Jesus, you're full of ideas. Like, what kind of animal head?"

Loki took the Stark Pad into his own hands and drew beside the design. He drew one front corner of the shelf, making the one side have a decorative beam that curved near the top and end with a zoomorphic head that Tony recognized from pictures he'd seen of longboats. He had no idea what kind of animal the head belonged to, but it was definitely some sort of animal that Vikings liked.

"Wow, you're really running with the whole Viking shtick, aren't you?" Tony hummed as he took the Stark Pad back from Loki. "I can program something to care it all out, though, that's easy."

Loki nodded in understanding. "What about his bed and the rest of the room? I only brought so much of my old clothing for him to wear, too, and I don't know how much of it will truly fit him."

"I know, I know. We gotta get this place ready for a little kid. After he wakes up, we'll all go to Macy's or something and get him some clothes." Tony replied, setting the Stark Pad aside and rubbing his forehead. "We should get kid friendly food, too."

Loki nodded in agreement. "It will be a while until he wakes, I would wager. He's been through a lot in last hour or so. A lot for a baby, at least."

"Yeah, probably. So, is he gonna be six forever?" Tony asked curiously.

"The spell of Idunn's apples wears off after a while of not routinely eating them. I don't know when the last time he was given one was, but eventually, he will begin to age again. He will not age entirely like a human, mind you. He will stop once he has completely become an adult." Loki explained. "At least, that's what I think will happen. It's a blind guess, really. There's not many children like him, so there's not much precedent that's already set."

Tony listened and hummed a bit as he wrapped an arm around Loki's shoulders. "Do you know much about being a parent?"

"I haven't been granted enough experience, honestly, to learn a lot. I hope to gain the knowledge eventually." Loki replied, letting Tony hold him close.

"I don't know much about being a dad, either. But, if you chose me specifically to come to when you needed help, I must be on your good list. I'm probably doing something right, hm?" Tony thought aloud.

"For now, yes," Loki said with a small smile.

"That's reassuring. We'll figure this out as we go."

"What of Asgard, Thor, and the All Father?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it." Tony said with a shrug. "For now, let's just focus on getting you and your kid settled in here and assume you'll be sticking around for a while."

Loki nodded and kissed Tony's cheek. "Does this mean we're courting?"

"Courting? That sounds… formal." Tony replied, holding the god close. "Why don't we just say we're together? It's easier, gets the job done. You know?"

Loki nodded in understanding and leaned into Tony, resting his head on the other man's shoulder. "I understand."

Tony smiled softly and turned on the TV, happily watching whatever was on with the god for a couple hours and just relaxing with him. After a while, Sleipnir came ambling out of the guest room, his grey hair messy and face drowsy. He wandered over to his mother, hummed, and held his arms up to the man.

Loki picked Sleipnir up and held him close on his lap.

"Well, looks like the little man's awake. Let's go get him some clothes and kid food." Tony said, getting up from the couch and turning off the TV before he pulled out his phone.

Loki nodded and kissed Sleipnir's small cheek, snuggling the boy close to himself as he stood up from the sofa. "Will I need to shift forms at all?"

"It's probably a good idea, yeah," Tony replied with a nod while the phone rang.

Loki nodded and shifted into his female form once again.

Within a few minutes, they were walking out of the tower and going into one of Tony's cars.

"Kay, Happy. We gotta get to a Whole Foods, and then a Macy's." Tony said easily.

"Since when do you shop at Whole Foods or Macy's?" Happy asked with a small frown, eyeing the woman and child sitting next to Tony.

"Since now," Tony said dismissively as the car started moving. He looked over at Loki and Sleipnir, smiling softly at the sight of the little boy craning his neck to watch out the tinted windows in wonder at the other cars and the city around them.

He had to admit, the kid was cute. He seemed to be pretty sweet, too, though he didn't know how to speak, so he didn't know if the child would have an attitude when he figured it all out. As much as he loved and adored Loki, The man had a very distinct attitude about him that he would hate to see on a small child.

Sleipnir seemed to want to run and play when they arrived at the Whole Foods. Everything seemed to excite him and it wasn't long until Loki had to make him hold onto his hand as they walked around so he didn't run around to look at everything.

The boy got especially excited at all the different foods he'd never seen before, which was practically everything in the store. After a bit, he started to help out with the shopping.

"Hey, Sleip. Can you help me pick out the apples, please?" Tony asked, holding open a plastic bag.

Sleipnir hummed in reply before reaching up to grab apples one by one from the display and set them gently in the bag.

"That looks perfect. Thanks, buddy." Tony hummed, ruffling the little boy's hair.

They continued to shop around for food that was more child and family friendly. Tony was determined to make sure Loki's child ate better than he did.

"No, Sleipnir. Only one bag of marshmallows, honey. You don't need two." Loki said as Sleipnir grabbed a bag of marshmallows from the shelf and moved to drop it into the cart.

"No," Sleipnir repeated, dropping the bag in.

Tony laughed and took out his phone to record the interaction.

"Sleipnir, honey, put one bag back, please," Loki said patiently.

"No," Sleipnir repeated, going back to the shelf to grab a third, grinning over at Loki and Tony as he put his hand on the bag.

"He takes after you, baby." Tony chuckled.

"I hope he won't take after me too much," Loki replied, moving over to scoop the little boy up into his arms and put the second bag of marshmallows back on the shelf.

"No!" Sleipnir protested, hugging his mother's shoulders.

"Yes, I'm afraid you can only have one bag, baby." Loki hummed.

"Those things are pure sugar, Sleip. You'll get sick if you eat too many of them, you know." Tony said, pocketing his phone.

"No," Sleipnir replied, looking over at Tony.

"I'd never lie to you, kiddo." Tony laughed, continuing with the shopping trip with Loki and Sleipnir.

Once they were done getting groceries, they let Happy drive them to Macy's so they could find Sleipnir some clothing while Happy dropped the food off at home.

Tony insisted on getting Sleipnir a T-shirt and pair of pajamas with little Iron Man heads on them.

"He's gonna be the coolest kid in the city. Trust me. Now, let's see if we can find a tiny AC/DC shirt for him." Tony asserted. "Better yet, let's get you some cool clothes while we're here."

Loki smiled and laughed a bit. "Alright, I suppose we could do that."

Tony grinned and helped the pair of Asgardians choose clothes, making sure they both had plenty of casual, business casual, and dress options available. Loki was very drawn to anything with both green and gold on it. Sleipnir was much easier to please and just seemed happy with anything that either Tony or Loki liked on him. Conveniently enough, a majority of the clothes Loki chose for himself were by bigger name designers.

"Damn, you're lucky you're cute," Tony said as he inserted his credit card at the checkout register.

"You worship me, Tony Stark, don't pretend otherwise." Loki laughed.

Tony laughed and kissed Loki on the cheek before signing on the little screen. They walked back out to the car together once they had finished their shopping trip. Sleipnir watched out the window once again, marveling at everything that passed by.

"As soon as all the wood and stuff comes in, I'll get to work on the furniture." Tony hummed as he relaxed with an arm around Loki's shoulders.

Loki nodded and smiled at Tony, leaning into him contently.

"Something on your mind? You've been weirdly quiet this whole ride." Tony asked with a small frown.

"Thor said that the All Father would more than likely come down soon. The last time he, Sleipnir, and I were all in the same room together, Sleipnir was being taken from me. I'm not on the best terms with the All Father, and the last thing I want is for you to get involved in our family drama." Loki explained honestly.

"Hey, no family's perfect. Trust me, there's no such thing as the perfect nuclear family. Every family has rough spots, it's normal. I'll be right there next to you. You don't have to face the guy alone." Tony said seriously to the god by his side.

"I've committed multiple crimes, Tony. Any altercations with the All Father will not be pretty." Loki frowned.

"I've done a lot of shit I'm not proud of, too, trust me. You're not alone on this, baby."

Loki nodded and rested against Tony. "Thank you, Tony."

"Anything for you, Sweet 'n Lo."


	8. Chapter 8

Sleipnir's nose had created a mark on the window of the car by the time they returned to the Stark Tower.

"Come along, dear heart," Loki said, moving to scoop his son up into his arms.

"No!" Sleipnir replied with a happy giggle, slipping past him and running out of the car after Tony.

Loki just smiled and followed his son out of the car and into the elevator that would take them up to the penthouse.

"No!" Sleipnir protested when Tony went to press the button for the floor, grabbing his hand and pulling it down.

"What, did you wanna do it?" Tony asked, watching as the little boy went to try and reach the buttons. "You gotta push this one up here, Sleip. You need a boost?"

Sleipnir held his arms up to Tony. Tony took that as a 'yes'. Sleipnir happily pressed the button for the floor from Tony's arms and let the man hold him for the rest of the ride up to the floor.

"Ah, I see. He'll let you hold him, but he doesn't want me to. You're not biased, are you, little one?" Loki teased, gently poking Sleipnir's small cheek.

Sleipnir grinned and giggled while he pressed into Tony's chest and cuddled into him a bit.

Tony couldn't help but smile as he watched the little boy. He'd never been the biggest fan of little kids before, though he supposed they were okay when they were well-behaved like Sleipnir was. It helped that Sleipnir seemed to be exceptionally cute, too. It was hard to believe that Sleipnir was the son of the Norse god of Mischief.

"Okay, kiddo, you gonna help me put all of this good food in the kitchen?" Tony asked as they got to their floor.

"No!" Sleipnir replied with a grin.

"You really need to learn more words." Tony chuckled as the door opened to their floor. He stepped out with Loki and set Sleipnir down on the floor so the child could blow off steam while they put the groceries away.

"He's got a lot of energy in him." Tony chuckled as he watched Sleipnir run into the kitchen, then out and head towards the living room.

"Oh, the wonders of youth." Loki agreed, following Tony to the kitchen.

They'd only started to put away the groceries when they heard a little yelp from the other room, followed by a thud and the sound of a child crying.

Tony looked at Loki and they both rushed out of the kitchen to go to the living room to check on Sleipnir. They found the boy on the floor crying and staring at the one-eyed man standing in the center of the room.

Loki frowned when he saw Odin and moved to quickly gather Sleipnir up in his arms to try and comfort him.

"Of all places you could go, Loki, I never thought you would seek refuge amongst the mortals," Odin said, breaking the silence.

"I figured it would be relatively safe," Loki replied, keeping close to Tony. "I didn't think I would be found so quickly, at least not by anyone other than Thor."

"You and Thor truly do think that I gave my eye for nothing, it would seem," Odin replied with a small sigh.

Tony kept relatively quiet, not wanting to get in the middle of a familial squabble between a couple of Viking gods. Sometimes, though, he couldn't stop the words from flying out of his mouth.

"You mean, that isn't from some sort of motorcycle accident?" He asked. He instantly regretted it by the way Odin's gaze turned to him.

"Norns…" Loki breathed after Tony's questions.

"I gave my eye at Mimir's spring to gain the Knowledge of Ages, Anthony Stark," Odin explained, keeping his gaze on Tony.

"He knows absolutely everything there is to know in at least this universe." Loki clarified.

"Oh, shit," Tony said. He was only just meeting his lover's father and the guy already knew about all the weird things he'd done during puberty and in college. Hell, the guy probably knew all about him and Loki along with all the ideas he had yet to bring up to Loki.

"Even so, Loki, you're my son. I know you better than you'd think." Odin said, turning his attention back to Loki.

"I'm not your son." Loki huffed back.

"Oh? Well, then, please refresh my memory. Tell me about all the childhood memories you have with Laufey, the Frost Giant."

For a rare moment, it looked to Tony like Loki didn't have an answer.

"Loki, you have an ever-growing list of things that you need to answer for, and actions that deserve punishment. You have stolen from me and impersonated me, both of which are high crimes by themselves. Though Thor was an accomplice, you have escaped the Asgardian prisons and have been living as a fugitive ever since. You have multiple war crimes against this realm on your record as well." Odin said seriously.

"I feel my actions leading up to and including my escape from the prisons has been accounted for. I did not steal from you, Allfather, for how can someone steal a child that was theirs to begin with?" Loki argued.

"You forget that you were the one who offered me Sleipnir as a steed."

"I'm allowed to change my mind."

"That still leaves you with the crime of impersonating me. Something like that could easily warrant death."

"Whoa, hey, the death penalty isn't legal in New York," Tony spoke up after a bit.

"Tony, we were worshipped by the Vikings. To them, someone's sheep grazing in their pasture could warrant the death penalty." Loki said with a small sigh.

"You can't kill him, he's got a kid to look after. Sleipnir doesn't say much, but I'm pretty sure he understands everything." Tony protested.

"People have been adopted into new families before. Besides, Sleipnir was doing perfectly well in the stables before Loki stole him away." Odin replied before turning his attention back to his youngest son. "Which is why you're extremely lucky that your brother thought to advocate for you before I came here. When Thor needed to mature and find a new outlook, he was sent here until he learned to be a better man. That is exactly what you will be doing, starting tonight."

Loki blinked at the statement, though decided not to protest it too much since it was far better to stay there with his son and lover while cut off from Asgard than to return to Asgard only to have his head mounted on a spike.

"When Thor was banished, you took Mjolnir from him. I have no weapons like that." Loki pointed out.

"Yes, you do. I am going to release you from your seidr until you are proven worthy of wielding it again." Odin replied.

Loki tried to think of something he could say or do to get himself out of the sentence since he'd never gone a day without his seidr and couldn't imagine having to live like a mortal. Odin had his hand on his forehead in a second, though, before he could even get a word in.

Tony took a step back in shock at the sight. Loki's entire body seemed to be glowing green. His head had rolled back and his mouth was hanging wide open like he was screaming without making a sound. The green light poured from his eyes and mouth. All the lightbulbs in the room shattered simultaneously.

Loki's skin morphed from alabaster to cobalt. Sleipnir had hidden his face in his mother's shoulder in fright and was now shivering against him.

"So, this is all fine and dandy, but how's he supposed to blend into Midgardian society looking like that? Let's be real, a lot of us have problems with people who are the wrong shade of beige. No one's going to be okay with seeing a blue guy who's not a part of a weird touring entertainment group." Tony said once the whole process had finished.

Odin looked over at Tony at that and seemed to consider this for a bit. "Your Midgardian raises a valid point. Very well, from the moment the sun rises to the moment it sets, your skin will be pale. Your skin will be blue during the nighttime."

Loki blinked at that but didn't stop Odin from setting his hand on his forehead again and letting his skin return to its usual pale tone.

"That's not a bad gig, eh, Princess Fiona?" Tony said with a small smirk, clapping Loki's shoulder.

"Beg pardon?" Loki asked.

"Never mind, baby." Tony hummed. "Now we just need to make you fit in with society. Easy peasy."

"Where would we start?" Loki asked.

"I have no idea," Tony admitted.

"I will be keeping a close watch on you, Loki, and I'm sure plenty of Midgardians will, as well. I urge you to keep control of yourself." Odin said. "As for you, Anthony Stark…"

Tony swallowed when Odin addressed him again.

"I wish you the best of luck." Odin finished, nodding to the mortal. Without another word, the Allfather had disappeared from the room, leaving the trio completely alone.

"You okay, Sleip?" Tony asked the small child in Loki's arms cautiously.

Sleipnir nodded quietly as he continued to cling to his mother's shirt.

"Good. You're a good, strong young man. That's a great thing to be." Tony said, gently rubbing a finger over Sleipnir's small knuckles. This got the boy to smile at him.

"I'm going to need to conduct thorough research on this realm's society if I'm ever to fit in seamlessly with it." Loki thought aloud.

"Or, you can just take my word for stuff. Trust me, I've lived here my whole life. I've got a pretty good handle on Midgardian society. At least, on the American part, I do." Tony replied, walking back to the kitchen to continue putting the groceries away.

"Very well. Teach me, Tony." Loki replied as he followed the other man into the kitchen and set Sleipnir down to sit on the countertop.

"Well, for one thing, America is a meritocracy. More often than not, if you work hard, you'll get ahead. So, we'll have to get you a job somewhere. Lucky for you, I know a lot of people. Networking is the key to getting a good job, so I can pull some strings for you and get you an interview or two." Tony explained. "I'll start making phone calls tomorrow."

"I see. To fit in with society, you need to contribute to it." Loki hummed.

"Exactly. You're a smart guy, it should be easy for you to get a good job in no time. The one thing that blows is that you kind of made a reputation for yourself here a few years back. It's not gonna be easy to regain public trust, Lolo."

"I figured it wouldn't be."

"But, I have a great idea to work around that. It might piss off Clint Barton, but I really don't care."

"Clint Barton?"

"The dude you made your mind slave that one time."

Loki blinked and looked deep in thought.

"He's the one with all the arrows."

"Oh, yes, I think I remember now. What's your idea?"

"I'm gonna make you an Avenger."

Loki paused at that and cocked an eyebrow at Tony. "They'll kill you, Tony. Even if you simply bring it up, they'll kill you."

"Yeah, well, they've done a lot of shit without asking me about it beforehand. I'm calling this, getting even."

"Alright. If they don't kill you, then they'll definitely kill me. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course it's a good idea. I only have good ideas, Lolo."

"You just said that I'll have a hard time regaining public trust, Anthony. If random citizens won't trust me, what makes you think the damned Avengers will?"

"Well, I trust you. That's gotta count for something."

"I think you're a bit biased, Tony."

"Lolo, I'm telling you, this is a good idea. We'll show them that you're trustworthy and that you can be useful." Tony insisted, taking Loki's face into his hands.

Loki sighed and rested his hands on top of Tony's. "Alright. I doubt I'd be able to sway you, anyways."

Tony smiled and kissed the god's nose. "It'll be fun, Lolo. Don't worry."

"I'm trying not to," Loki replied. He turned his attention back to Sleipnir at the sound of the little boy's strained grunting, only to see that he'd found the bag of marshmallows and was furiously trying to tear the plastic open.

"Hey, hey, no. Don't use your teeth, kiddo, that's bad for them." Tony said after a bit of just watching the little boy try to open the bag.

"Mama!" Sleipnir demanded, holding the stretched, slobbery bag out to his mother.

Loki sighed and glanced at the clock. "It's getting close to dinner, so you only get two." He said, taking the bag and tearing it open. "What are these, anyway?"

"They're basically sugar and gelatin." Tony hummed, taking a couple marshmallows from the bag for himself and popping them in his mouth. "Gelatin is some weird shit that comes from pigs. I'm not super sure what it is exactly."

"Is this even safe to give a child?" Loki asked, examining the bag.

"Yeah, it's totally safe, in moderation. It's like candy or cake or anything sugary. Just don't give him too much and make sure he brushes his teeth well and we should be good." Tony said.

Loki nodded and pulled out two of the little marshmallows and put one in each of Sleipnir's outstretched hands.

Sleipnir popped one into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and followed suit with the other marshmallow. Once they were both gone, he held his arms out to his mother to hug him in thanks.

Loki smiled a bit and pulled Sleipnir into his arms, kissing his cheek and cradling him close.

"Well, why don't I order the wood for his bedroom and we can figure out what we're gonna do for dinner?" Tony suggested once all the groceries had been put away. "Unless a certain little man knows what he wants right now."

"Lutefisk," Sleipnir replied easily, smiling up at Loki when his mother started laughing.

"Do I want to know what that is?" Tony asked with a frown.

"It's cod that's been fermented and jellied," Loki explained with a small smile.

"Christ, you people and your fish. Okay, how about something we can make to eat tonight?"

"Fishies." Sleipnir hummed.

"Any particular way you want the fish, kiddo?" Tony asked, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Fishies," Sleipnir repeated.

"Gotcha. We'll see what we can do for fish." Tony said with a small smile. With that, he went over to the Stark Pad laying on the table to order all the wood for Sleipnir's bedroom furniture.

Sleipnir sat aside and watched the pair of men cooking together in the kitchen, his eyes growing wide as they started to fry the cuts of salmon in a pan on the stove. Once all the food was done, he let his mother set him down at the kitchen table to eat.

After dinner came his bath, and then it was time to wind down for bed. Both Tony and Loki helped Sleipnir get dressed in his pajamas for the night and they both tucked him in.

"Goodnight, baby. I love you." Loki hummed to the boy, kissing his cheek.

"Night night, Mama. Love you." Sleipnir replied, leaning up to kiss his mother's cheek in return.

"Goodnight, kiddo. Sleep tight, kay?" Tony said with a small smile.

"Okay, Papa. I love you." Sleipnir replied, smiling back at Tony.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony blinked in shock. Earlier that day, the boy had only been saying one word to anyone. Now he was forming complete sentences, telling people he loved them and calling him his father. Part of him wanted to take the little boy in his arms and hold him close and protect him for the rest of time. He wanted to see that little smile all the time. Another part of him was scared that he couldn't. He couldn't help but feel completely unworthy of everything he'd recently been given. He didn't feel worthy of Loki or the way the god seemed so completely enamored by him. He didn't feel worthy of an honorary spot in their little family. He definitely didn't feel worthy of the unconditional love of a small child.

Sleipnir was so small and had been through so much already, but the child didn't seem to care. He just seemed happy to be there with them and to be tucked into a bed that was way too big for him.

Tony was pulled out of his trance when he felt Loki's cool hand on his back, nudging him closer to the little boy, who was still smiling up at him. He knew he had to keep the kid happy no matter what.

"I love you, too, Sleip. Let's go to sleep now, okay?" Tony finally said to the boy, reaching down to gently tap his little nose.

Sleipnir grinned and nodded before obediently closing his eyes to go to sleep.

They turned out all but one small light before leaving the room and closing the door lightly behind them.

"Thank you for that," Loki said softly once they were alone in the living room.

"What're you thanking me for?" Tony asked.

"For telling Sleipnir you love him and letting him call you his father," Loki replied. "Some semblance of a proper family and structure is good for him, and I'm sure he's wanted it for some time now. And I'm sure you never signed up to become someone's father when we started our relationship together. At least, not for quite some time."

Tony looked over at Loki, whose form had shifted at some point while they were in Sleipnir's room. "You don't need to thank me for that. Any decent person would've done the same thing. If a kid says they love you, you have to tell them you love them, too. It's the principle of the thing."

"You're a good man," Loki said, letting Tony take hold of his hand in his own.

Tony just shrugged at that. "Hey, wanna go blow off steam?"

Loki blinked and cocked an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

"Come on, I'll show you," Tony said, holding onto Loki's hand and leading him over to the elevator. They rode down a couple floors to a wide open floor that was filled with exercise equipment, trampolines, and a large area against a padded wall for sparring.

"If you're gonna be part of the team, let's make sure you can fight like one without your magic stuff," Tony said, leading him over to the sparring floor.

Loki followed him over to the floor and took one of the foam covered rods while Tony pushed a few buttons on the walls to fill the room with music. He tested the weight of the rod in his hand to feel the balance before he took off his shoes and socks to make sure he had good traction on the padded flooring.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Stark? I am a Viking deity, after all." Loki asked with a smirk to the other man.

Tony smiled back at him. "Actually, you're still in your civvies. Hey, FRIDAY, can we get some exercise clothes for me and Immigrant Song over here?"

"Of course, sir." The voice answered through the speakers. In an instant, a wave of blue light washed over Loki. In another instant, it was gone.

"Here is a set of activewear that should fit Mr. Odinson's proportions." The voice said again, a slot in the wall opening to reveal a pair of leggings, shorts, and a loose tank top.

Loki took the clothes and moved to get changed into them in front of Tony while Tony took his own clothes from the wall and did the same.

Tony pulled on and hopped around as he pulled the leggings up, shamelessly staring in awe while he watched Loki do the same. "You know, the blue skin isn't bad. It's kinda pretty on you. Makes your ass look even better." He commented.

"Well, you're a little bit biased, Stark," Loki replied, pulling the shorts on over the leggings, and then the shirt.

"Only a tad." Tony chuckled as he finished dressing with Loki. "Pass me one of those rods?"

Loki nodded and grabbed another foam covered rod from the container and passed it over to Tony.

"Alright, we're gonna let FRIDAY count us down. When she says to start, we'll start. Deal?" Tony said as he got into position on one side of the padded floor.

"Deal." Loki nodded, getting ready on his side of the floor.

The five seconds that FRIDAY took to count them down felt like an eternity. Loki kept his eyes trained on Tony, a smile on his face. He sprang into action the moment they were told to start, his rod hitting Tony's right away. Tony pulled away to swing the rod like a baseball bat, and Loki quickly fell back to avoid it. He got up quickly and grabbed his own rod before launching himself at Tony again.

The pair ran and maneuvered around each other for a while longer until they finally ended with Tony on his back on the floor, and Loki holding both the rods, his foot placed lightly on his stomach.

"Do you yield yet?" Loki asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, yeah, I yield. You win, Princess." Tony said, catching his breath. He cracked a smile up at Loki. "You know you're really hot from this angle. Doesn't help that you've popped one, though."

"I beg your pardon?" Loki asked with a frown.

Tony just laughed and looked from Loki's face to the tent in his pants, and then back up at him.

Loki followed his gaze down and suddenly felt his cheeks burn. "Hel." He cursed, moving to turn away and put the rods back for an excuse to get Tony to stop staring at him.

Tony laughed even more at that and got up to stand behind Loki and hug him from behind. "Don't worry about it, Lolo. Why don't I help you out with that?"

"Are you sure?" Loki asked after a momentary pause. "My body temperature has decreased quite a bit. I highly doubt I could bring you any semblance of pleasure in this form."

"So your cock's an ice cube. I'll be fine. If I get my tongue stuck to it, though, we might have a problem. But, we can burn that bridge when we get to it." Tony shrugged.

"Well, I suppose if you're alright with it." Loki allowed, watching Tony move in front of him and drop down to his knees.

Tony was grinning like a madman as he pulled Loki's shorts and leggings down to pool around the god's ankles. He made a mental note to get nudes of the other man while he was in his Jotun form sometime. The markings that Loki bore on his face apparently spanned his entire body.

He took hold of the god's hips, smiling a bit at how cool they were to the touch. They weren't too cold that it hurt to touch him for too long, which told him that sex with him in that form could be as amazing as it usually was. He'd never actually tried ice play before, but he was a big fan of the 'Go-Big-Or-Go-Home' approach to things.

Without wasting any more time, he leaned forward and started to kiss along Loki's cock and start to lightly suck on the head. He grinned as he heard Loki moan, which only egged him on. He balled his hands into fists and squeezed his thumbs before taking the other man completely into his mouth, burying his nose in the small nest of hair above his cock. He felt Loki's long fingers weave into his hair as he started to bob his head.

Loki moaned with pleasure as Tony started bobbing his head on his cock. He held onto the other's dark hair and spread his legs a bit as he felt one of Tony's hands move from his hips and snake down to rub his thigh.

Tony moved his hand over the cool thigh and up the inside of it. He looked up to watch the god's face as he reached to fondle his balls. He hummed around the other's cock in wonder as he felt around between Loki's legs and found something that felt wet and slick, that seemed to want to swallow his fingers up inside of them.

Loki's entire face had flushed purple, and he was moaning louder now, moving his hips with Tony's mouth and fingers, seemingly torn between which he wanted more.

Tony pushed his fingers into Loki and decided he could ask questions later. Until then, he wanted to focus on his lover and making Loki cum down his throat. He fingered the other man in time with the bobs of his head. When the god gripped his head close against himself, he braced himself and smiled as the god finished in his mouth with a loud moan of his name and what he could only assume were curses in Old Norse.

He popped off and swallowed before grinning up at his lover.

Loki panted and sat down on the padded flooring next to Tony. "You're very good at that, Tony." He said once he'd finally caught his breath.

"I do my best. You packed a pretty big game changer, too. I thought you didn't have any magic, so you couldn't change your body anymore." Tony replied with a small smile.

"I don't, and I can't. This is my whole, most natural form." Loki replied honestly.

"Okay. Mind explaining everything to me so we're on the same page?" Tony asked, moving to wrap an arm around Loki's shoulders.

"I am a Jotun, a Frost Giant. You understand that much, right?" Loki asked as he leaned into Tony.

"Yeah, I got that much," Tony replied with a nod.

"Well, Giants were the first beings to ever be created in this cosmos. The first was named Ymir. His children killed him and his body helped to form Midgard. That's not important, though," Loki explained, waving his hand in the air dismissively. "I suppose some tribes and clans bred to have sex distinction, but many giant tribes didn't. I'm blood of one of the tribes that didn't."

Tony listened intently as Loki gave him the brief history lesson. "Alright, I think I get it. So, is it fully-functioning?"

"Yes, it is. Which means that we'll have to be careful about intimacy for the time being. I have nothing against you, and I'm sure any child with your genes would be lovely." Loki said, letting Tony play with his hair.

"Nah, I'm on the same page as you. Sleipnir's a great kid, and I'll help you raise him. I'm just not super ready for a baby, you know? Besides, we haven't exactly been together that long." Tony agreed.

"Exactly. We should really court each other for a year or more before even thinking about having a child together." Loki nodded.

Tony nodded in agreement and held the god close to himself as he laid back on the floor, hugging Loki tightly.

"Maybe we should've stretched before exercising. My legs and arms are gonna be sore tomorrow." He thought aloud.

Loki smiled and laughed at that, content to just lay there with Tony and chat with him about whatever was on their minds.

After a few hours, the god had fallen asleep on top of Tony's chest. Tony smiled a bit and took a few pictures of Loki's sleeping face with his phone before finally getting up and carrying his lover up to their bedroom for the night. He did his best to dress Loki in a pair of sweatpants, just in case. With that, he changed for the night as well before climbing into the bed to sleep with the god. Loki seemed to sense Tony next to him and curled into him the instant he'd laid down.

Tony eventually had to put on a shirt so he didn't get too cold, but he didn't really mind. It was a small price to pay for sleeping next to Queen Elsa's long lost brother.

Sleipnir was the first to wake up the next morning. Tony was the second to wake up, and he woke up the sound of the TV playing in the living room and a little boy's voice singing along to it, his little feet patting around while he danced.

"How do you go from barely being able to talk to figuring out how to work a TV overnight?" Tony asked with a sigh, reluctantly leaving Loki's side to go out to the living room.

Sleipnir was rhythmically bouncing from foot to foot while he spun in a circle to the sound of the music playing on whatever kid's show was on the TV. The little boy noticed Tony in the middle of one of his rotations and grinned up at him.

"Papa!" He squealed, running over to him with his arms outstretched.

Tony sighed softly, feeling any of the initial annoyance from being woken up melt away.

"Hey, kiddo." He hummed, scooping Sleipnir up into his arms. "You sleep well?"

Sleipnir nodded and snuggled into Tony's shoulder. "Did you sleep good, Papa?"

"Yeah, I did." Tony hummed. "Wanna help me make coffee?"

Sleipnir nodded and held onto Tony as the other man carried him into the kitchen.

"Here, this is Mr. Keurig," Tony said, setting Sleipnir down beside the coffee machine.

"Good morning, Mr. Keurig." Sleipnir hummed, waving at the little machine.

"Very good. First, we need to make sure he's got enough water in him." Tony said, moving to open the machine to reveal the reservoir inside. "How's it look, Sleip? Is it full, or does it need more?"

Sleipnir moved to his knees on the counter and scooted over to look into the machine. "Needs more."

Tony nodded and moved to fill the water reservoir the rest of the way. "Alright, now we're ready for business. Which one should I have today?"

"What're those?" Sleipnir asked when Tony got a basket full of K-Cups to show to him.

"They're little plastic cups with stuff inside. When they mix with the water in the machine, they make the perfect blend of coffee to fill one of your mugs." Tony explained.

"But, how?" Sleipnir asked.

Tony didn't have the balls to tell the kid he had no idea how a Keurig machine actually worked. He figured there had to be some sort of chemistry behind it all, but he had no idea what it was and had never had the time or motivation to figure out how a plastic cup filled with mystery goo could mix with hot water and make a perfect cup of Starbucks brand coffee. So, he decided he'd figure it out later, and tell the kid something that would make sense to him.

"Well, the liquid in the cups are charged with magical energies, and the water in the machine is charged with its own magical energies. When they combine, it makes a specific type of coffee." Tony said.

Sleipnir nodded in understanding, looking like he was amazed he didn't see something so obvious.

"So, what coffee should I have? You seem like you'd know your coffee." Tony asked.

"Um, this one. It's got orange on it." Sleipnir said, pointing to one of the Dunkin' Donuts K-Cups.

"Good choice. You're a gentleman and a scholar." Tony hummed, ruffling Sleipnir's hair before he moved to get a mug down from the cabinet.

"So, now we put this mug down here so it can catch the coffee when it comes out of this little spout here, see?" Tony explained, showing Sleipnir how the machine worked and popping the cup into it.

"Does it take a long time?" Sleipnir asked curiously.

"Nah, only a couple minutes or so," Tony replied.

Sleipnir nodded and stayed on the counter to watch with awe as the coffee from the machine started to slowly drain into the mug and fill it up.

"Alrighty, it's all done. We need to let it cool a little bit, though, so we don't accidentally burn our tongues." Tony said, throwing away the empty K-Cup and taking the mug out from the machine.

"Now it's all full of coffee?" Sleipnir asked.

"Yep." Tony nodded.

"Whoa." Sleipnir breathed. "Papa, what're we gonna do today?"

"Well, um, first we should have breakfast. Sometime this morning, I should get the wood in for your bedroom furniture. So, I'll be spending a lot of today down in my workshop, building everything for you." Tony replied.

Sleipnir nodded thoughtfully. "Can I help?"

"Sure, if Loki lets you. You'd need to be super careful though, alright? A lot of stuff down there is super dangerous, and only adults with experience using them should use them." Tony replied.

"Okay. I'll be a good boy."

"I'm sure you will. Let's just make sure with your Mom first."

"Make sure what?" Loki asked, ambling into the kitchen drowsily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning, sunshine. Sleip wants to help me down in the workshop while I make his furniture today." Tony hummed.

"I'll be good, Mama! Promise!" Sleipnir added, looking up at his sleepy mother.

"Alright, baby. Make sure to do what Tony tells you, alright? If he says not to touch something, don't touch it." Loki replied, taking the cup of coffee gratefully from Tony while the man moved to make another one.

"Okay, Mama. I'm a good boy." Sleipnir nodded.

"I know you are, dear heart. You're a very good boy." Loki hummed, kissing Sleipnir's head.

Tony smiled and happily went to work making breakfast for the three of them while Loki slowly woke up and Sleipnir chattered away about a dream he'd had during the night. When it was time to eat, they all sat around the table together.

"What's this thing?" Sleipnir asked, pointing to the single fried egg on his plate.

"That's a fried egg, Sleip. Here, take your fork and poke the yellow stuff. It's really fun." Tony explained.

Sleipnir picked up his fork as instructed and stabbed into the round yellow dome on the egg. He gasped and burst into laughter as the yolk spilled out around his egg and onto his plate.

"Mama, can I poke yours?" Sleipnir asked excitedly, eyeing the two fresh yellow domes on his mother's eggs.

Loki smiled and pushed his plate closer to Sleipnir. "Be my guest, darling."

Sleipnir grinned and wielded his fork like a spear before puncturing both of the yokes of his mother's fried eggs. He burst into laughter again and grinned happily as the contents spilled out onto the plate. With that, he looked over at Tony with a wide grin.

"Go ahead." Tony hummed, pushing over his plate.

Sleipnir poked the yokes of his eggs as well and happily continued to giggle at the effects. He started to eat once he'd calmed down, falling silent and polite with his parents.

After breakfast, Loki helped to dress the boy and Tony showed him how to brush his teeth with the little toothbrush and kids toothbrush they'd bought for him. In the middle of the task, FRIDAY let him know that the shipment of wood had arrived and was waiting in the workshop for him.

"Perfect timing. Alrighty, Sleip, let's head down and get to work." Tony hummed after rinsing his mouth with mouthwash.

"Yeah!" Sleipnir agreed.

"Lolo, FRIDAY will help you if you need anything or wanna find us, okay?" Tony hummed to Loki, patting his shoulder.

"Don't worry about me, I can get some reading in while you two are working." Loki hummed, kissing Tony on the lips warmly.

"Don't miss me too bad," Tony said with a grin.

"It's impossible to miss someone who's still here." Loki teased.

Tony laughed and scooped Sleipnir into his arms, heading down to the workshop with him.

He had to admit, part of him was rather excited to show the boy his workshop and all his technology and the suits he kept down there. It seemed like Sleipnir would love anything they did together. If he showed the kid all his suits, Sleipnir would ogle them with wonder. If he played AC/DC over the speakers in the room, Sleipnir would dance around without a care in the world.

"Here we are." He hummed as the elevator doors opened to the floor. He walked down to his workshop with the boy, and let himself into the secured room. "I'll give you the grand tour, Sleip."

Sleipnir nodded, already looking around in awe at everything. He let Tony set him down and take him by the hand.

"This is Dum-E and U, my robots. I built them myself and gave them the best names in the world." Tony hummed.

Sleipnir gazed at the robots in wonder. "Hello."

Dum-E whirred to life, picked up a wrench from a nearby table, and offered it to the child.

"Hey, make yourself useful and get the kid a bottle of juice. And stop handing random tools to children, that's how you get them hurt." Tony said, letting Sleipnir hold onto the wrench.

Sleipnir walked with Tony through the workshop, looking with wonder at everything.

"Oooh! Papa, what're these?" Sleipnir asked, running over to the large glass cases that held all the Iron Man suits.

"Those are my suits. I made them all by myself, and they're lined up in order of when I made them. They're basically full suits of armor, but cooler. When I wear one, I can fly around, go underwater, lift a bunch of super heavy stuff. They're fun." Tony hummed with pride, watching Sleipnir press his nose to the glass of the cases holding the suits.

"Papa, are you a soldier?" Sleipnir asked with a big smile.

"Nah, I'm no soldier. I just do my best to do the right thing and do it the best I can." Tony replied, ruffling the boy's hair. "If your mom lets me, maybe one day I can take you on a ride around in one of those. I did it with him once and he seemed to love it."

"You'd make me fly?" Sleipnir asked with big eyes.

"Sure, if you want." Tony hummed, turning his attention to the pile of wood and pulling up the blueprints and designs on a Stark Pad nearby.

Sleipnir watched Tony work and took the bottle of juice from Dum-E when the robot returned.

"Hey, FRIDAY, can we get some music on in here?" Tony called. In an instant, classic rock filled the room. "Alrighty, Sleip, let's get to work."

The pair worked together in the workshop. While Tony did most of the heavy labor, Sleipnir danced to the music, drank his juice, and kept him from getting too bored.

"Papa, what's that?" Sleipnir asked at the sound of a phone ringing came over the speakers.

"Just the guy I wanted to talk to!" Tony hummed as he checked the caller ID. "Sleip, do you mind being super quiet while I'm on the phone?"

"Okay, Papa." Sleipnir hummed, sipping his second bottle of juice while he sat down to color the coloring page FRIDAY had printed out for him.

"Hey, Thompson, thanks for calling back. Hey, I was wondering if that one position in your department is still up for grabs." Tony said after answering the phone, the room acting as a large speakerphone.

"Good morning, Mr. Stark." The voice replied with a sigh. "Yes, the position is still open. Since when do you have experience in the field of Scandinavian mythology, Mr. Stark?"

"Since I started fu - er, dating someone who does," Tony replied. "The job wouldn't be for me, obviously. But, I know someone who could do well in it. You literally wouldn't find anyone more qualified if you tried."

"Alright, I'll bite. Who do you want me to give the job to and why would I let you tell me who to hire?" Thompson asked.

"Well, after that one donation a few months ago, I think it's kinda the least you can do since your department didn't wanna name a building after me." Tony hummed.

"You already have a building named after you on campus. It would become confusing to have two Stark Halls. Now, who do you want me to hire?"

"Loki Odinson."

Thompson went silent for a bit. "I don't know if I know that name. Does he have research I can find?"

"Probably not."

"Does he do any sort of research?"

"Not formally, but he reads a lot. He's a big nerd like you, so he'd be a perfect fit."

"Stark, I have a department to run. Why the hell should I hire this 'Loki Odinson' if he has no history in academia at all?"

"Because he's the literal Norse god of mischief and deception and no matter how many mythology nerds you interview for the job, you'll never get any better than Loki. You're going for secondary sources while you have a primary one right here in New York."

Thompson paused again, then a faint clicking could be heard, like the tapping of a keyboard. "You're telling me that it's a good idea to hire the guy who part near leveled Manhattan?"

"That was years ago. He's totally safe now, trust me. At least, he's on our side now. If I can trust the guy enough to be naked around him, you can trust him to teach a class." Tony replied easily as he started to work on the decorations on Sleipnir's bookshelf.

"I'll want to formally interview him," Thompson said, giving in.

"Just say the time and place and he'll be there." Tony hummed.

"Alright, can he be here in my office tomorrow at one?" Thompson asked.

"He'll be there," Tony replied, moving to write the time and place down on his hand.

"Great. Have a good day, Mr. Stark."

"Back atcha," Tony replied before hanging up the phone.

"Is Mama gonna get a job, Papa?" Sleipnir asked, looking up at him.

"With any luck, yeah," Tony replied with a nod, turning to get back to his work. "Hey, FRIDAY, set a reminder for Loki's job interview tomorrow at one pm in Thompson's office."

"Of course, sir. Mr. Stark, it would seem there's a visitor heading up from the front desk for you." FRIDAY replied dutifully.

"Visitor? I'm not expecting anyone, am I?" Tony asked with a frown.

"No, sir, you're not scheduled to meet with anyone today," FRIDAY replied.

"Well, who on Earth was let in, then?"

"It's one Steve Rogers, sir."

Tony paused what he was doing and moved to turn the music off, cursing under his breath. "FRIDAY, remind me to tell the people at the front desk downstairs to stop letting him in without my permission."

"Yes, sir," FRIDAY replied.

Tony scooped up Sleipnir with his coloring things and juice, rushing over to an elevator with the child, trying his best to catch an elevator up to the penthouse before Steve did. He and Loki hadn't exactly planned out how they'd introduce him to the other members of the team, and he sure as hell wasn't ready to do it right then and there.

"Come on, come on, come on…" Tony said impatiently as they waited for the elevator to open. He blinked when it finally arrived, having expected it to be empty.

"Oh, Hi, Tony. I thought you'd be upstairs." Steve said easily, letting Tony onto the elevator. "Who's the kid?"


	10. Chapter 10

Tony frowned, silently cursing Steve for trapping him with societal cues. He couldn't just not get on the elevator now. If he tried to get the other out, Steve would know something was up immediately.

"This is Sleipnir. Sleip, this is Steve." Tony said, holding the little boy close.

"Hi!" Sleipnir chirped from Tony's arms.

"Hi, kiddo," Steve said, holding a hand out to Sleipnir and waiting a moment. "You shake it, son."

Sleipnir gave Steve a look, but quietly took his hand and wiggled it around a bit. He grinned up at the blonde man and happily started to giggle.

"Well, you have plenty of time to perfect it." Steve conceded. "So, are you in the babysitting business now?"

"He's my partner's kid, actually. So, it's more of an honorary parent kind of situation." Tony replied.

"He's my Papa." Sleipnir supplied.

Steve blinked at that and hummed. "Huh. Well, I guess I didn't peg you as a family guy."

"I hope you don't peg me at all," Tony replied easily as the elevator doors opened again. "Hey, Sleip, why don't you go find your Mama and you two can figure out where you'll want your bookshelf in your room."

Sleipnir nodded and took his juice from him before scampering off to find Loki.

Tony then wandered into the kitchen, knowing Steve was too damn polite not to follow him. He just had to make sure the other never caught sight of Loki at all while he was there and everything would be fine.

"You're not gonna introduce me to your girlfriend?" Steve asked once they were both in the kitchen and Tony was pouring himself a glass of water. "Or have alcohol?"

"No, and I'm not gonna drink while the kid's awake. That's for after he goes to bed." Tony replied with a shake of his head.

Steve watched Tony curiously for a little bit before frowning. "What are you trying to hide from me, Tony?"

"Nothing." Tony lied.

"Really? Because you're not really the best liar, you know. I know you well enough to read you like a book."

"You don't know jack shit about me, Rogers." Tony huffed.

Steve crossed his arms over his chest at that. "Who's the girl, Tony?"

"You don't know her at all."

"Well, if she's a stranger, why don't you want me meeting her at all?" Steve asked, turning to leave the kitchen to try and find where Sleipnir had run off to in the penthouse.

"Hey, hey! I didn't know you were coming, and she definitely didn't. Wouldn't it be kind of rude to put a lady on the spot like that?" Tony tried, bounding over to stand in front of Steve.

"Not if you introduced me properly," Steve replied, peering around Tony and down into a hallway, where one door was cracked open, light streaming out from inside of it. "The more you try to keep me from meeting this woman, the harder you're gonna make it on yourself."

"You're not my fucking dad, so don't talk to me like you are." Tony spat back.

In almost an instant, he heard footsteps heading towards them from the hallway.

"Norns, Tony, Sleipnir will start repeating you," Loki said as he walked out, stopping frozen in his tracks when he made eye contact with Steve Rogers.

A few quiet seconds passed.

"Coming!" Loki called to no one at all before turning to retreat to the hallway again.

In almost an instant, Steve had grabbed the back of the collar of Loki's shirt and was hauling him back over.

Tony glowered when he saw the way Loki gagged and grabbed at his shirt while Steve practically tossed him back onto the living room couch.

"Hey, don't fucking touch him. The next time you lay a hand on him, I'll break every one of your fingers. Don't think I won't." Tony said, pulling Steve away from Loki and putting himself between the pair.

"What the hell is he doing here, Stark?" Steve demanded, keeping an eye on the god.

"Chilling, mostly. What's it to you who I let live with me in my home?" Tony huffed.

"'What's it to me?' He's a war criminal, Tony!"

Loki stood up from the couch, moving to stand behind Tony, gently resting a hand on his lover's arm to try and get him to calm down.

"I served my time. Technically, I continue to do so, more or less." Loki said, holding Steve's gaze. "You can let your guard down, Captain, I'm unarmed. For now."

The statement didn't seem to reassure Steve at all.

"Mama? Papa? What's happening?" Sleipnir asked from the hallway, watching the adults with wide eyes.

Loki looked over at Steve and frowned when the blonde man had turned to look at his son as well. Without another thought, he slipped out from behind Tony and ran over to Sleipnir, scooping the boy into his arms protectively and holding him close as he ran into the kitchen.

Steve wasted no time following the god, stopping when he saw Loki with Sleipnir in one arm and his other hand holding a large chopping knife held out in warning. The god's green eyes seemed to burn.

"Put the kid down, Loki. Stand down." Steve said slowly, carefully taking half a step closer.

"Don't take another step closer, Captain. I won't warn you again." Loki hissed.

Steve held his hands in the air to show the god they were empty. "Put the kid down."

"You'll have to pry him out of my cold, dead hands."

Steve frowned, staring the god down. "Using a child as a shield? That's really pathetic, you know."

He took another step closer.

In an instant, the knife in Loki's hand was flying through the air, aimed for the spot just between Steve's eyes. The super soldier dropped to the ground as the knife whizzed overhead. The blade pierced the wall behind him about an inch deep.

Steve charged at the god, having decided the best way to separate him from the child was by force. The moment his hands fell on the little boy and he'd lifted him away from under the armpits, Loki was screaming. He had no idea what the god was saying since it was in a language he wasn't familiar with. It could have been Norwegian, but he wasn't sure. He wasn't focused so much on the words as he was on getting away from the god, who'd locked one of his hands on his hair and was yanking at it while using the other to scratch him, scrambling like a wild animal to get the little boy back.

At some point, Tony had worked his way behind Loki and had grabbed the god around the waist, picking him up and carrying him further away from Steve to get the other man out of his reach. Loki flailed and kicked, screaming himself hoarse as Tony lifted him into the air and set him down a few yards away.

"No! No, give him back!" He cried, finally switching back to English.

Steve blinked as he stepped back, trying to get a better grasp on what was happening. He looked down at Sleipnir and frowned at the way the little boy looked up at him like he was some kind of monster. His bottom lip was quivering while his big eyes stared up at him, tears welling up and spilling over his cheeks.

"Cap, set the kid down," Tony said seriously.

Steve held eye contact with Tony for a moment before quietly putting Sleipnir down on the ground and letting the boy run over to Tony and Loki. Loki fell to his knees the moment the child was back in his arms, clutching the child close to his chest.

He slowly, carefully approached Tony. He kept an eye on Loki, who kept holding Sleipnir tightly to his chest while scrambling away, or as far away as he could in the kitchen until his back hit the wall.

"I think there's something I don't know going on here. Does someone mind filling me in?" Steve said, looking at Tony.

"Sleipnir is Loki's kid, and I'm letting them stay here for the time being. Loki was banished to Earth and he has no contact with Asgard or any magic left, at least he won't until his father decides he's done being punished." Tony said quietly, looking at the god on the floor.

Steve took the information in. The god was not a threat unless he had access to a weapon. "Why are they here of all places? And why was he using his own son as a meat shield?"

"Well, uh…" Tony started awkwardly.

"You were going to take him from me, use him as a negotiation tool against me, and hurt him," Loki spoke up from the ground as he cradled the crying boy against his shoulder.

"I wasn't going to hurt your kid," Steve replied in awe at the idea. "I thought you were going to hurt him."

"What? Why not?" Loki asked, in just as much awe as Steve. Sleipnir was very obvious his weakness. It seemed almost obvious that he'd be used as a weapon against him.

"Why not? I'm not going to hurt a little kid just because I don't like you."

Loki paused and looked up at Steve confusedly. "But, he's my blood. The child takes after the parent, you know."

"The sins of the parent aren't hereditary. Just because you did horrible things doesn't mean that he should take the blame for that, too, just because he's related to you." Steve said seriously.

Loki fell silent at the new idea but seemed to relax slightly while he stroked and played with Sleipnir's silvery hair.

"Why don't you two go take a breather? I need to talk to Steve, and it might be best to do it alone." Tony suggested, looking down at Loki and Sleipnir.

Loki nodded and got up with Sleipnir still in his arms. He moved to leave the kitchen, quietly pulling the knife from the wall and setting it on the counter as he left, shooting Tony a small sheepish look before leaving the room.

Tony sighed and rubbed his temples, moving to put the knife back into the knife block. "FRIDAY, make sure we have plaster or spackle around to fix this wall. If we don't, get some. The sooner the better."

"Of course, sir." The AI replied dutifully.

"Alright do you wanna brief me on why Loki and his son are taking refuge in your home?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, I'd probably better." Tony sighed, moving to get down a glass and a bottle of whiskey.

"I thought you said you weren't gonna drink while the kid was still awake."

"A lot can happen in five minutes."

Tony sighed as he sipped the alcohol, rubbing his forehead, trying to forget the images that Loki's frenzy had sent through his head.

"Loki and Sleip are here because I let them be. A little while ago, I went to a party and went home with a girl I met there-" Tony explained.

"Stark…" Steve groaned.

"Hey, hey, this is part of the plot of the story. Don't be a prude just because I get more action than you have in the past fifty years." Tony shot back. "So, we went back to my room and nearly broke the bed."

Steve rolled his eyes and looked away, but said nothing.

"I found out the next morning that she was actually a he. More or less. I don't know, I guess it kinda depends on the day. Whatever. Turns out, I fucked the shit out of Loki. He said he needed a place to stay for a while because he was trying to stay off the Asgardian radar. So, I let him stay with me until he had to leave. We had more awesome sex, obviously. We spent a lot of time together, and the guy kinda grew on me, and I'm pretty sure I grew on him. Then, he had to leave, and I thought that was it. Then, about a day or so later, he came back with Sleipnir. He got in trouble with his father because he's not technically supposed to have Sleipnir, but the old man lets him keep the kid. Now he's stuck down here without any sort of magic or access to Asgard until his dad decides he's worthy of it."

Steve took the information in and sighed softly. "Are you in love with him?"

Tony blinked at the question. "I really like the guy, yeah. Jesus, I feel like a teenage girl."

"Love isn't shameful, Tony," Steve said.

"Shut up, Steve." Tony groaned, sipping his whiskey again. "I really like the kid, too. He's a great kid. He calls me 'Papa' all the time with the sweetest little smile."

Steve smiled softly at that. "So, you've got yourself a little family. That's good, that'll be really good for you."

"I wanna help Loki redeem himself. I'm working on getting him a job. He's got an interview tomorrow for the NYU. He's a hell of a fighter, but you figured that part out a couple minutes ago. I think he would be valuable on the team."

"By team, you don't mean - "

"I do. Loki's gonna be an Avenger. I already ran the idea past him and he's down. He's a great fighter, he's on our side, and he looks damn awesome in spandex. Once he gets his magic back, it'll be even better."

"The others would skin you alive the moment you try to make it official."

"Yeah, well, when have we ever had a vote on who gets in and who doesn't? I know the others won't like it, but I really don't care. Loki would be a good addition to the team. Even without his magic, he's great."

Steve sighed, knowing Tony was too stubborn to ever be talked out of that particular scheme. "If you want him on the team, you'll need to talk to Fury. You need to work out the logistics and all the official stuff yourself. I'm not going to help you, but I'm not going to work against you either. I'll let Loki prove himself to me and everyone by himself."

Tony relaxed at that and nodded, moving to look out at the living room, where Loki was speaking softly to Sleipnir, letting the little boy play with his dark hair. Steve followed him over and watched with him.

"You know, if this all works out, you could have something really special going here, something you shouldn't ever let go." He said softly.

"You sound like my mom."

"I'm serious. Have you guys ever gone out at all?"

"A few times. It's harder to do now that Sleip is in the picture."

"Well, if you ever want someone to watch him for a night, you have my phone number."

"Oh yeah, your phone. You sure you don't want one of those phones with the huge buttons for your old man eyes?"

"You know what, I need to meet someone for dinner. When you want to drop the bomb on everyone about Loki, let me know." Steve said.

"Did you just drop by because you got bored?" Tony asked.

"Essentially, yes," Steve replied. "Good luck with him."

"Yeah, yeah, get out of my house," Tony replied, shooing the blonde man away before moving to join Loki and Sleipnir in the living room.


	11. Chapter 11

Steve only walked far enough out of the room to escape Tony and Loki's vision. He pulled out the small phone everyone had insisted he needed to buy and quietly navigated the touch screen until he'd sent messages to everyone in or around New York, other than Tony Stark. He quietly slipped into the elevator, taking one last glance at the trio in the living room.

"Hey, hey, Sleip. Look at me, buddy." Tony said as he settled down on the floor next to Tony and his crying son. "The next time anyone ever tries to touch you or your mom, they'll have to go through me. No one's gonna hurt you without a fight."

"Tony, I have many enemies, the captain was only one of them. Knowing my nature, I'll make more in the future." Loki said as he hugged Sleipnir close. "Are you sure this would be something you can handle?"

"Hey, you and I used to be enemies, didn't we? I think we wound up in a good spot." Tony said, wrapping an arm around the god to pull him close. "If anyone tries anything, I'll take care of it. Leave it to Daddy."

"Don't call yourself that."

"Daddy!" Sleipnir cheered, holding his arms up to Tony.

"There we go! See, he's got the spirit." Tony hummed, scooping the boy into his arms and bouncing him a bit to make him laugh. "Hey, Sleip. Why don't you, me, and Mama figure out what he should wear to his big interview tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" Sleipnir replied.

"You heard the man. Up and at 'em, Lolo." Tony hummed, shifting Sleipnir to one arm so he could pat Loki's backside as they stood up from the floor.

"I want to wear something green." Loki thought aloud as he moved to walk to his and Tony's bedroom.

"I know you do, baby."

It only took a few minutes to sort through the master bedroom's walk-in closet to find a green button down with a black blazer and trousers to match. Tony insisted on a Tom Ford, telling Loki all about how the man was the 'king of menswear'. Sleipnir was more than happy to play on the large, round bed, bouncing on the soft mattress. Whenever they showed him an option for his input, he'd chirp, 'Pretty!' and go back to bouncing. Deciding Loki definitely had a flair for gold accents, Tony found some golden cufflinks and a pair of gold-rimmed aviator shades.

"Great, now try it all on and show us." Tony hummed, pushing the clothes into Loki's hands.

Loki nodded and started to strip down, not at all minding the way Tony was ogling him. He was just glad Sleipnir didn't seem to care about seeing his mother in his underwear. Once he'd put everything on but the glasses, he turned back around to show Tony.

"You look great, Lolo. Can I see with the glasses on?" Tony asked.

Loki nodded and slipped the sunglasses on over his face, watching Tony's smile spread into a grin.

"Oh my god, you look fantastic." Tony hummed.

Loki turned to look at himself in the mirror by the large closet. "I look like you."

"Exactly." Tony hummed, moving up behind Loki to hug him around the waist.

The rest of the day passed without a hitch, and the small family happily relaxed together before finally calling it a night in the evening. Tony put on his winter pajamas, a pair of socks, and a pair of gloves so he could comfortably hug Loki close in their bed. The effort made the Jotun smile and he curled up around Tony, cuddling the human and kissing his head absently until falling asleep.

The morning was spent lazily. After lunch, Loki finally got dressed in the suit they'd laid out for him and the three of them got into the car that was waiting out in front of the skyscraper for them.

"Germanic Studies department of NYU, Happy," Tony said, patting his driver's shoulder after getting Sleipnir seated in the car.

"Wait, when did you get a kid? Shouldn't he have a car seat or something?" Happy asked confusedly.

"Oh, yeah. Happy, this is Sleipnir. We can get him a car seat later today." Tony hummed, ruffling the little boy's hair after helping him get buckled in. "We are kinda on a time crunch, too, Happy."

The driver huffed a sigh and obediently started to drive through the streets of Manhattan, navigating through the usual New York traffic before finally stopping in front of one of the office buildings of the university. Tony helped Sleipnir out and got out with Loki, leading his lover into the building and up to Thompson's office.

"Alright. You're good on time, so no worries there." Tony said, setting Sleipnir down so he could straighten and fix Loki's shirt collar and straighten his blazer.

"Tony, what should I expect in there?" Loki asked with a small frown.

"Well, he's just gonna ask you a bunch of questions about yourself. He's looking for people who are the most qualified to teach mythology to a bunch of twenty-somethings. You gotta go in there and tell him all about why you're the best for that." Tony said, pushing the god's dark hair back and making sure everything was perfect.

"Alright. That sounds simple enough." Loki said, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself.

"Exactly. When you're done, just go back down and Sleip and I will be outside waiting for you. It shouldn't take that long." Tony said, kissing Loki's lips softly.

"Alright. I'll just knock on the door, then?" Loki asked.

"Yep. He should be in there." Tony nodded. With that, he gently ushered Sleipnir away and out of the building.

Loki watched the pair leave before facing his reflection in the frosted glass of the door. He took another deep breath before pushing his shoulders back. With his back straight and head held high, he assumed the regal posture his mother had spent countless hours instilling into his head. If he could convince the man on the other side of the door of his confidence, he might be able to fool himself as well.

He knocked on the door gently a few times.

"Come in." A voice called from the other side.

Loki let himself into the room and approached the tired looking older man sitting at the large desk.

The man stood up and walked around to meet him, his hand outstretched politely. "You must be Loki. Stark talked a lot about you over the phone."

Loki took his hand and shook it firmly. "It is a pleasure, Mr. Thompson."

"Why don't you take a seat?" Thompson said, gesturing to the armchair in front of his desk.

Loki nodded and settled into the soft chair, though refusing to let himself get too comfortable. He had to keep his back straight and posture perfect.

"So, Stark tells me you're a Scandinavian deity. Do you have any proof to back up that claim?" Thompson asked as he got seated in his own chair.

Loki thought about how he could prove himself to the man without his seidr.

"You will die on the eighteenth of August, 2037." He said, having decided that speaking in Old Norse was all he could really do for the time being.

The man blinked at the language shift. It sounded Icelandic, but it wasn't quite the same. He knew it wasn't Norwegian or Swedish, both of which he was personally fluent in.

"One second, please," Thompson said, getting up and leaving the office to go down the hall to the one faculty member he knew was good with Germanic languages.

"Alright, say something in that language again," Thompson said once he returned with a middle-aged brunette woman.

Loki looked over at the pair. "This man is so amazed by me speaking my mother tongue. It's hilarious," he said to the woman, who blinked and chuckled a bit.

"What language is that?" Thompson asked her curiously. "It's not Icelandic, I don't think."

"Well, technically it's very old Icelandic. That's old Norse, but it's a bit different. I think what he's speaking is either a dialect or an even older form of Old Norse." The woman explained. "Can you say something more, please?"

"Sometimes I listen to the songs of that Carrie Underwood songstress and, quite frankly, I don't mind them," Loki replied.

"What? Carrie Underwood?" Thompson asked, looking at the man seated in his armchair and the woman beside him.

"He said he doesn't mind Carrie Underwood. Yes, I think he's speaking an even older form of Old Norse." The woman said.

"Even Older Norse." Loki supplied, perfectly happy to continue speaking the language and watch his interviewer become more and more confused.

"How do you know an older form of old Norse?" Thompson asked.

Loki just grinned back at the man, his green eyes shining like emeralds.

"I think you and I both know. You're simply hesitant to admit it," he replied, returning to English.

Thompson sighed. "Thanks, Sandra, you can get back to your work now."

The woman nodded and left the pair alone in the room again.

Loki smiled as he finally sat back in the armchair, spreading himself out in it like it was his own personal throne.

"Alright, let's say you are a god. Do you have any experience in education or teaching?" Thompson asked.

"Thor had a bad habit of never listening to our tutors when we were children. I would often have to re-teach him everything that had been covered that day." Loki replied easily.

Thompson sighed and rubbed his temples before looking back up at the young man sitting across from him. No matter how badly he wanted to ask for further proof, something deep in the pit of his stomach told him that it would be pointless. He couldn't describe the feeling of Loki's presence even to himself, but he knew it was different from anyone else he'd ever spoken with. There was something entirely inhuman about him. Something inside of him told him that his ancestors would have worshipped the man sitting across from him as a deity.

He also knew that having a god as an instructor would draw more attention to the Germanic Studies department, giving them the boost in registrations they'd need to avoid being the subject of budget cuts. If they could have one good semester, the spring semester would likely be even better. He just wondered if Loki knew what email was.

Tony had walked Sleipnir to a vendor outside the building selling hot dogs when the boy complained that he was hungry when they'd left Loki for his interview. He found a little table in a nearby park and sat at it with the child before teaching him how to eat the hot dog. Sleipnir figured out rather quickly how to make a mess with the ketchup.

The little boy sat still while Tony cleaned the ketchup from his shirt and giggled when the man blew a raspberry onto his cheek. Once Tony was done, Sleipnir threw his arms around him to hug him tightly.

Tony smiled at that and let Sleipnir crawl onto his lap and cuddle with him while he ate the hot dog. He couldn't help but start to think about all the things around New York he wanted to do with the boy. He was sure Sleipnir would like the Central Park Zoo and the New York Aquarium. Most kids went nuts over things like that. Even just taking him out for ice cream would probably make his day.

Sleipnir ate his hot dog quietly in Tony's lap and patted his stomach when he'd finished. "Daddy, all done!" he announced.

"Really? You must've been starving, kiddo." Tony laughed, kissing Sleipnir's cheek. He was glad he'd had the foresight to grab multiple napkins because the boy had managed to make a mess of himself with the ketchup once again.

"Daddy, where's Mama?" Sleipnir asked curiously while Tony licked a napkin and started to clean his face again.

"He's still in his big job interview, buddy. You saw him go in." Tony replied.

"Oh. Why?" Sleipnir asked.

"Well, he wants to prove his worth to your grandpa so he can get his magic back. We think getting him a good job would be a good step towards that." Tony explained. "He's trying to become a teacher here."

"Oh. Mama's smart. He'll do good." Sleipnir replied. He craned his head to look over Tony's shoulder as the other cleaned his face. "Daddy, what's that?"

"Hmm?" Tony hummed, turning around to look where Sleipnir was pointing. "Oh, them. They're called 'paparazzi' and they're literally everywhere I go. There's really no escaping them."

"Are they bad?" Sleipnir asked.

"Not inherently, but they can get kind of annoying. They take pictures of me whenever they see me out and about. I'm sorry, but it looks like you're in this mess, too." Tony sighed, turning Sleipnir around to face away from the cell phone cameras. "God, I wish they'd leave kids out of it. If I see your face on a magazine cover and it isn't blurred, I'm gonna lose it."

"Lose what, Daddy?"

"It's an expression, Sleip. It just means that I'll be really, really mad at them."

Sleipnir just nodded and snuggled back into Tony's chest, relaxing there against him for a while. He didn't entirely understand what was going on, but he knew it was enough to annoy his new father, which meant it was annoying to him, too.

Tony tried to relax and keep himself from worrying about what might happen if the paparazzi caught Loki coming out of the building and going over to them. He'd wanted to take their time, and go public with their relationship on their own terms. Hell, they hadn't even worked out a label for their relationship yet. The moment the paparazzi got pictures of him with Loki, just acting as they usually did, the entire world would know about them, which included all of the Avengers, every agent of SHIELD, and all the catty, rich assholes who pretended to be friends with him at boring rich people parties in an effort to network.

He wasn't so un-self-aware that he didn't know how many women at those parties practically stampeded over each other to try and get a chance at sinking their claws into him. Throwing Loki into the fray of that would be beyond unfair to him, and he had no idea how the god would react to all of it. All he could do was hope the paparazzi got bored and went away before Loki came back down from the interview.

When a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and a set of warm, soft lips pressed against his cheek, though, he knew it was too late. Everything he'd worried about happening would happen, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Guess who." Loki crooned into Tony's ear as he nuzzled his cheek with his nose.

"Oh, wow, Dad! You've come back to love me!" Tony replied before looking up at Loki. "Oh, hi, Lolo."

"Hello, Tony." Loki hummed, sitting down in the chair next to Tony's at the table.

"Hi, Mama!" Sleipnir said with a grin.

"Hello, darling. Did you behave for Tony?" Loki said, reaching over to gently take his son's smaller hand.

"Oh, yeah. He was a little angel. Ate kinda messily, but all kids do that." Tony said, stroking Sleipnir's hair.

"You fed him?" Loki asked, letting Sleipnir crawl onto his lap and snuggle into his chest.

"Yeah, I got him a hot dog from a guy selling them from a cart. He liked the ketchup bottle and made me put a lot on it, but he still ate it all, so it's not a big deal." Tony explained.

"You fed what to my son?" Loki asked, resting a hand on the boy's head protectively.

"A hot dog, Lolo," Tony replied, watching the god gape at him. "It's not actually made out of dog, baby, it's just what they're called. They're actually just pork sausages between bread."

Loki relaxed at that and let out a breath. "Why do you call them dogs, then?"

"Uhh… you know, I don't actually know." Tony replied after a bit of thought.

"I'll never understand Midgardians." Loki sighed, shaking his head. "Well, as long as he's got a full stomach and it was safe to eat, I suppose there's no problem with it."

"You'll get used to us with time, don't worry. But, hey, how'd the interview go?" Tony asked with a small smile to the other man. He knew the paparazzi was still there, but he elected not to worry about it so Loki wouldn't.

"Ah, I think it went well. He said they would assign me an assistant and give me some sort of mail address. Then I'll have to make a syllabus and lesson plan by September." Loki replied easily. "I wish he'd tell me definitively whether I got the job or not, though."

"Lolo, if he told you they'd set up your e-mail and get you a TA, that means you got the job," Tony said, his smile widening.

"Oh? Really?" Loki asked in awe.

"Yeah. Congratulations, baby, you did it. You've got your very own big-boy Midgardian job." Tony nodded.

Loki grinned at that and leaned over the table to kiss Tony's lips warmly. "Thank you. You helped facilitate it. Without you, this would never have come to pass."

"Anything for you, Lolo," Tony replied against the god's lips before kissing him again.


	12. Chapter 12

Later that night found Loki resting on the couch against Tony, curiously fiddling with the new gadget Tony had given him. Tony had called it an 'iPhone' and said it would help him communicate with people at the university as well as with him. It hadn't taken Thompson long to call Tony with the log-in info for Loki's university email address. Once Tony had helped him set up the email up on his phone, he found that there was already one message that detailed who his teaching assistant would be, how to reach her, and contained an attached document that detailed the basic curriculum for the class he'd teach and showed the previous professor's syllabus.

"I suppose I should find a way to get in touch with the assistant." Loki thought aloud as he stared down at the glowing little rectangle in his hands.

"Probably a good call. The sooner, the better. It's only about a month and a half till the fall semester starts, I think." Tony agreed, absently running his fingers through Loki's dark hair. "Why don't you email her and try to set something up? Maybe you two can meet up somewhere and get all your ducks in a row."

Loki nodded and found the young woman's information in the email. He wrote the message like any other letter he'd ever written - long-winded and full of formalities before finally getting to the point.

"Tony, can you read this to make sure it's alright?" he asked, handing the phone back to his lover.

"Sure, Lolo." Tony hummed, taking the phone and starting to read the message. After the first paragraph, he scrolled through a bit, only to find he kept scrolling for longer than he really needed to. "You can probably cut most of this out, Lokes. I mean, this is a twenty-something girl named Allison you're writing to, not the damn Queen of England."

"What do you mean?" Loki asked, moving to turn around and look over Tony's shoulder at his phone's screen.

"I mean all this shit in the beginning. You don't need to give your whole backstory when you're introducing yourself. You definitely don't need to give her all your titles. Just be brief and to the point. Say who you are and then why you're writing." Tony advised, handing the phone back.

"I did that, though. I told her who I am and why I'm writing to her and suggested times we could meet." Loki said with a confused frown.

"I mean, say like, 'My name is Loki Odinson, I'm the new Scandinavian Mythology professor.' Don't say, 'Loki Odinson, or Laufeyson, the Father of Lies and Mother of Monsters, heir to the throne of Jotunheim, the Stormbringer, first of his name, Khaleesi, blah blah blah.'"

Loki cocked an eyebrow at that and looked down at the email he'd tapped out with his fingers. "She wouldn't find that sort of thing rude?"

"Baby, she's a twenty-something girl in New York City. If she thinks an email that isn't five pages long is rude, she's in the wrong town." Tony said, wrapping an arm around the god to hold him close.

"I see. I'll shorten it, then." Loki agreed before promptly deleting the email and starting over to create a new message about a tenth of its original size. "How's this, then?"

Tony looked over at the new message and nodded. "A lot better. I think that's great."

Loki nodded and signed his name at the bottom of the email before sending it to the girl.

"Now what?" he asked, looking from his phone's screen to Tony.

"Now, you wait for her to get back to you," Tony replied.

"Ah." Loki hummed, looking back at the phone screen and waiting to get a reply.

Tony glanced over at the god after a few moments of silence. "Baby, it might take a bit. Your phone will give you a notification when you get a new email, okay? Then, there'll be a little red number at the top of that app's icon to let you know you have an email."

"Oh," Loki said, getting out of that app like Tony had shown him. He set his phone aside on the couch and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist as they sat together.

Tony smiled and kissed Loki's head, using his free hand to grab the TV remote and turn it on. He started to flip through channels mindlessly, laughing as Loki leaned up and started to bite at the lobe of his ear.

"Shoo, shoo. Get out of here, fly," he said, batting the god on the nose. He let the channel stay on the tabloid network while he got further distracted by the god, who quietly refused to leave his ear alone.

Loki grinned and laughed happily as Tony swatted at him, continuing to nibble on his ear and kiss where his ear met his neck. He only glanced at the TV for a second before smiling and going back to his teasing. "You're awfully popular today, aren't you?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Lolo?" Tony laughed, gasping softly when the god started to suck at his neck in the one spot he knew the god knew was maddeningly sensitive.

"The man on the box was talking about you just now." Loki hummed.

"Yeah? Only good things, I hope." Tony asked, turning to Loki and pressing their foreheads together.

"It seemed so. They said something about thinking you might be gay." Loki replied, gently kissing the tip of Tony's nose. "They seem to be heavily interested in your overall happiness."

Tony blinked at that and pulled away to grab the remote and rewind the TV.

"Tony? What's the matter?" Loki asked with a frown.

"Shh. Just be quiet for a little bit, Lolo. I wanna hear what they're saying." Tony said, pressing a hand over Loki's lips.

Loki huffed behind Tony's hand and unwrapped himself from around the other man. He crossed his arms over his chest instead and looked over at the TV to see what could have been so damn interesting that it made Tony want to ignore him.

"Tony Stark was spotted earlier today eating lunch on the NYU campus with a little boy on his lap. A lot of people wondered if it was some sort of publicity stunt." The entertainment news reporter said while a slideshow of various pictures from phone cameras appeared on the screen. "If it was a publicity stunt, it only got stranger about fifteen minutes later, when another man joined him and the pair were caught kissing. Some people on Twitter have pointed out that the man seems to be the same one Stark was seen getting coffee with about a week or so ago. Tony Stark's known for womanizing, so now that he's in a gay relationship, the internet's blowing up."

Tony watched the TV quietly and attentively. He frowned and paused the program. "Hey, FRIDAY, what channel is this?"

"It's TMZ, sir." The AI replied.

"Fucking rad. Get them on the phone right now." Tony said. "Lolo, you might wanna make sure Sleip's bedroom door is shut. I don't want him to hear me yelling."

Loki cocked an eyebrow but decided to question it later. Instead, he got up from the couch and went down the hallway to Sleipnir's room.

The door was cracked open, and with the sliver of light from the hall, Loki could see his little boy curled up in his bed, sleeping soundly with his thumb in his mouth. He smiled warmly and made a mental note to find the child some sort of soft toy he could cuddle and play with. Hel, why not go further and get him all sorts of toys? His boy would have the peaceful idyllic childhood he'd always wanted for him.

It was hard to resist the urge to slip into the room and pull the boy onto his lap to kiss and cradle him adoringly. However, Sleipnir was sleeping so peacefully, the last thing he wanted to do was wake him up.

"Rest well, little dear. I love you." He whispered into the room before quietly closing the door all the way. He lingered outside the door for a bit and jumped in shock when Tony started to shout in the other room. The initial shock passed quickly and he moved to see if he could put those nurturing urges to use.

When he walked back to the living room, he found Tony pacing around with his phone to his ear. For once, he was thankful that Thor had had such a fiery temper while they were growing up. Dealing with his brother's tantrums had given him more than enough experience to know how to deal with Tony's.

"I don't give a shit whether you wanted to show unedited pictures or not. Until you have written and spoken permission from that boy's father, my lover, you need to blur out his face." Tony spat into the phone. "No, you listen to me. I've been in this game for so fucking long that I know that I won't get any privacy, and my lover probably won't either. But the least you can do is treat a fucking child like a human instead of some zoo animal for your stupid goddamn TV show."

Loki kept quiet as Tony ranted on the phone, moving behind the other man to gently start rubbing his shoulders and guiding him back down to sit on the couch.

"Don't fucking ask me why. He's a child, that's why. He's only about six years old and he's not exactly from around here. If he suddenly starts to get attention from a bunch of strangers who recognize him from the internet and start gawking at him, he's gonna freak out. Until his father gives the okay, just let the kid have a relatively normal life." Tony huffed, letting Loki move him around and pull him close in his arms.

Loki held Tony in his arms and kissed his cheek softly. "Thank you for defending us. May I speak with them?" he whispered.

Tony paused when he heard Loki's soft, even voice in his ear. "You wanna talk to him, baby? You sure?"

"Yes. Please, may I?" Loki asked, holding out a hand for the phone.

Tony handed the phone over to Loki, figuring the god might be onto something.

"Hello." Loki hummed into the phone, keeping his voice even and calm while he used his free hand to rub Tony's back and continue to soothe him. "Yes, I'm Mr. Stark's partner and the boy's, Sleipnir's, father. You see, Sleipnir and I are technically foreigners here, and we're both working on adjusting to the culture here. Oh, we're from Asgard. Yes, the same Asgard that Thor's from. No, I'm not sure when he'll be coming back to Earth. Anyways, Thor isn't the point right now. What Mr. Stark and I are really asking is that this doesn't happen again in the future. I want my son to grow up as normally as possible, which doesn't seem likely when his face is broadcasted on televisions throughout the nation. Tony and I are adults, we understand that privacy outside of our home is unlikely. If you must show pictures of myself and him, that's fine. I don't have any bad side or unattractive angle."

Tony kept quiet and listened as Loki spoke on the phone. He rested his head on the other's shoulder, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He rested his eyes as he felt Loki's hand move from his back up to the side of his head to gently stroke his cheek and start playing with his hair. He wondered how Loki was doing that with his voice. The words flowed smoothly like honey. He wondered if the god of lies was simply naturally talented at persuasion. Thor didn't seem to have an ounce of seidr, but the lights always seemed to get brighter whenever he walked into a room. Maybe Loki could be the same way with words.

"Yes, perhaps I'm biased, but I think Tony looks wonderful in any lighting and at any angle." Loki laughed. "You do understand what we're asking, though, yes? Ah, thank you. That's wonderful, thank you. Yes, good night."

When he was finished, he ended the call and handed the phone over to Tony again, kissing his cheek. "It's done. They won't be showing Sleipnir's face anymore, and the images that they did post online will be removed and replaced."

"Really? Just like that?" Tony asked, taking his phone back.

"Your approach was all too human, darling." Loki hummed, kissing Tony's cheek and smiling warmly at him. "Oh, I was thinking, tomorrow we should get Sleipnir some toys."

"Oh, good call. Then I can finish with his furniture." Tony hummed. "Hey, should we figure out what our relationship is, exactly? I mean, all I know for sure is that we're fucking, we're living together, and we're kinda both raising your son. He seems to think we're both his parents."

"Oh, I suppose that would be pertinent." Loki agreed.

"So, um…," Tony said, quickly realizing he had no idea what he was doing. Should he tell the god he loved him? Did he know that for sure himself? "We're telling everyone we're together. Are we?"

"I'd say so, yes. " Loki replied with a nod. "I'd call this a monogamous relationship."

"I mean, like, are we lovers, or partners? Are you my boyfriend now? Generally, when two people are having sex, living with each other, and raising a child together, that means they're pretty serious." Tony asked.

"Well, I'm not sure if our situation would make us a normal couple." Loki pointed out. "How do you feel about this? About Sleipnir and I?"

Tony fell quiet under the god's gaze and gently reached over to take Loki's hands in his own. "Sleipnir is great. He's like the kid I've always wanted. I've always wanted to have a family like this, but I don't know if I'm that great of a father. I didn't exactly have the best teacher growing up."

"Well, I think it's safe to say that I didn't, either," Loki replied, smiling softly at Tony. "But, Sleipnir adores you. I think you're a wonderful father to him."

"I really love that kid, Lolo," Tony admitted. "He's such a sweet little angel. Plus, he looks a lot like you. There's so much fun stuff around New York I want to do with him."

Loki smiled at that and leaned forward to kiss Tony's lips warmly. "I look forward to all the days we have ahead of us."

"I love you," Tony replied without thought.

Loki beamed at the words and pressed their foreheads together. "I love you, too, Tony Stark."

"I guess this means we're each other's boyfriend?" Tony asked, winding his arms around Loki's waist while he watched his lover's skin shift as the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon.

"I suppose so. That's our label for this, then." Loki replied with a nod.

"Awesome." Tony hummed, holding the god close to himself on the couch and falling backward to pull the other down on top of him. He grinned as he let his hands wander up the back of Loki's shirt, gently running his fingers over the cool skin. "You know, this form of yours is really nice to have around in summer."

"I'm sure it is." Loki chuckled, smiling as he felt Tony's warm hands run up and down his back until they slipped underneath the waistband of his pants. "I think you just like having my body around, regardless of the weather."

"You got me there." Tony purred, kissing the god on the nose.

Loki laughed and slipped his hands up the front of Tony's shirt to start feeling at his stomach and chest. "I think I found another advantage to this form."

"Yeah? What's that, Lolo?"

"Your nipples become rock hard the moment I so much as touch them."

Tony blinked and flushed while Loki made his point clear by rubbing his icy thumbs over his chest. "Why don't we call it bedtime a bit early tonight?"

"I think that's an amazing idea," Loki replied, getting up and taking Tony's hand before practically running to the bedroom with him.

Once they were in the room, he pushed the door shut and guided Tony down to sit on the bed. He smiled up at the other man and dropped down to his knees, settling down between Tony's legs.

"Tell me if it's too cold, alright? If you want me to stop, I'll stop." He said as he unbuttoned Tony's pants and unzipped them to pull his half-hardened arousal out.

"Alright, I think I can manage that," Tony replied. He leaned forward to hold Loki's hair from his face and watched in awe as the dark blue lips parted just enough for his tongue to dart out and start licking from the base to the tip of his cock.

"Holy shit, baby." Tony sighed as he watched Loki with awe.

The god looked up at him and smiled before continuing to tease him with his tongue for a while until he finally wrapped his lips around the tip of his cock.

Tony smiled at the sight of those lips descending further and further down the length of his cock. Loki's lips and mouth were warm, which contrasted with the cold surface of the rest of his body. His nose was cold when it pressed against his skin. His cheeks had flushed purple and his ruby eyes looked up at him with adoration. He almost wanted to pull his phone out and take a picture and keep it forever. "Jesus, God, I love you." he breathed.

Loki hummed around his cock in reply and moved his hands up to gently rub Tony's thighs. He stayed there for a moment longer before starting to pull back slowly, only stopping when the faint sound of rock music cut off Tony's heavy breathing.

"Mr. Stark, Nick Fury is calling you," FRIDAY announced.

"Can he take a message, I'm a little busy," Tony replied. Of fucking course, Fury would wait until Loki was deepthroating him to call him for the first time in months.

"It seems rather urgent, sir. He's outside the building with multiple SHIELD vehicles now." FRIDAY replied.

Loki looked up at Tony at that and reluctantly pulled off his cock, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "How much do you think they want me to be a part of this?"

"It's probably about you existing, so probably a lot. I'm right here, Lolo. Don't worry about it." Tony said with a sigh, stroking the god's dark hair. "Alright, FRIDAY, I'll talk to them."


	13. Chapter 13

"Should I get the alcohol?" Loki asked, sighing softly.

"God, yes. Absolutely. I refuse to do this completely sober." Tony replied with a nod.

Loki stood up from the ground and kissed Tony's forehead.

"Can I take a raincheck on the blowjob?" Tony asked as he watched Loki get up to leave the room.

"Tony, I would drop to my knees for you regardless of the weather," Loki replied with a small smile.

With that, Loki left the bedroom. He paused just long enough to make sure Sleipnir was still sleeping well in his room before continuing out of the hall and to the kitchen. He fished down a pair of wine glasses and grabbed a bottle of wine without much regard or care about what kind he'd chosen before pouring a generous amount into both glasses.

He didn't have nearly enough time to plan some sort of approach to the inevitable confrontation before the elevator dinged. Luckily Tony sidled over to him at that moment, taking one of the glasses from his hands. They stood side by side, watching their guests emerge from the elevator like a pair of upset parents after their teenager had broken curfew.

"This had better be really fucking fast. We were busy." Tony said, sipping his wine. "This is good, is it Zinfandel?"

"I don't know, I just grabbed a bottle," Loki replied honestly, watching each familiar face file into the room, starting with Steve and ending with Nick Fury.

"We'll take as much time as we need, Stark," Nick replied with a hard frown. "We can start with why I had to hear from Rogers that you're harboring a war criminal and his child."

"You heard it from Rogers because Rogers is a snitch," Tony replied, frowning over at the blond man. "We were planning to tell everyone on our own time, when everyone was ready."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Fury replied. "I want to hear why Loki isn't in some Asgardian Alcatraz and I want to hear it now."

"I did my time and was released. If you want to have words with the man who set me free, then you'll have to contact Thor yourself." Loki replied with a frown back at him.

"Thor broke you out of prison?" Nick asked.

"He needed my assistance in the fight against the Dark Elves, yes. I think I've more than redeemed myself." Loki replied easily.

"So, if you're free to do whatever you want, why'd you come to Earth?" Natasha spoke up.

"Oh, can I ask something, too?" Peter piped up from the back of the group.

"Peter, what the hell are you doing here?" Tony asked with a small frown at the boy.

"Oh! Well, uh, Mr. Rogers invited me to dinner with everyone, and then we all came over here. He said it was for all affiliated heroes in New York, and I guess that means me, too. So, hi." Peter explained.

"Does your aunt know you're here?" Tony asked.

"Uh, she knows I left the house for a few hours and that I'll be home by ten. I kinda told her I was at Ned's." Peter replied awkwardly.

"Jesus Christ, kid." Tony sighed.

"As per your question," Loki said, turning his attention from the awkward teenager to Natasha. "I'm down here because I want to be. How much of a reason do I really need to have? I got bored, I went to a party, I went home with one Tony Stark. The rest is history."

"Wait, what? I thought when Mr. Rogers said you guys were partners, he meant like, 'buddies' or something." Peter said, his brown eyes wide. "Mr. Stark, are you gay?"

"No, I'm bi. Was that what you wanted to ask?" Tony replied.

"Oh! No. I wanted to ask why he's blue. Is he in that Blue Man Group? Are they even still around, cuz I only vaguely remember seeing pictures of them when I was, like, five."

Tony blinked in shock at the words that had come from the teenager's mouth. He looked over at Loki, who returned the gaze and quietly sipped his wine.

"Pete, you can't just ask why people are blue," Tony said.

"Tony, do you know this child?" Loki asked after a moment of confused silence before deciding to ignore the teenager's question.

"Hey! I'm not a child, Mr. Loki, sir." Peter piped up again.

"That's Peter. He's sixteen." Tony said with a small sigh.

"The Avengers are employing children now? That seems a little bit sad." Loki said, looking over to Nick Fury and holding the man's gaze.

"A so-called god camping out at Tony Stark's place for protection seems sadder." Steve shot back.

"I'm fucking him, Captain," Loki replied without missing a beat. "Don't get mad at me because you missed your chance."

Tony saw Peter's eyes go wide with a shocked and mildly uncomfortable smile spreading across his face. The teenager reached for his phone. He made eye contact with Peter and just shook his head.

"You've walked into our home uninvited for the second time today. Do you really think that it changes anything now that you've come with three friends and the child you're babysitting? 'Oh, look! I told you, mother, the big mean god is here! Now punish Stark for letting him in!'" Loki said, making his voice higher pitched and nasally for effect. "I've explained myself to you once before. I'm not doing it again. If your band of cronies wants answers, give them to them yourself."

"Excuse us for not exactly trusting you. You don't exactly have the best track record on Earth. You don't really have a good track record at all." Fury replied.

"You did almost stab me in the head, earlier today," Steve added.

"I was well within my rights, Rogers. You threatened me and my child, and I'd do it again." Loki spat, walking forward as he spoke until the tip of his nose was about an inch from Steve's. "You're saying yourselves that you don't trust me to be docile. So, stop pissing me off."

Tony frowned as he watched Loki get up in Steve's face. He was on Loki's side, of course, and would give anything to watch his lover hit the blonde right in his stupidly square jaw. However, he knew how SHIELD worked. The organization was by no means an unbiased judicial system. If Loki pushed the envelope any further, Fury would probably have him locked up in some sort of prison until they got word from Asgard to set him free. Even then, it was debatable whether or not they'd comply.

"Lo, come on," Tony said, taking hold of Loki's shoulder and pulling him away. "You don't wanna go there. Not right now."

"This man has wronged me for the last time," Loki replied, though stepping backward into Tony's arms.

"Why don't you go sit on the couch and drink your wine or something? Let me do the talking." Tony suggested.

"I can speak for myself, Tony." Loki huffed.

"Can you speak for yourself calmly and at a respectful distance?" Tony replied.

Loki paused and sighed through his nose. "I'll go to the couch."

"Good boy." Tony hummed, lightly smacking Loki's ass as he walked away.

Loki just smiled a bit and sat down on the large couch to listen to Tony take care of the situation while he drank his glass of wine. He felt like a child on a time-out, but he had to admit, it was probably best to let Tony take the lead. The situation diffused gradually while Tony explained the current situation. He explained Odin's verdict to them and that they were primarily living together as a normal, little family.

"So," Peter started awkwardly after Tony had finished. "Why does he turn blue at night, though? Of all colors, why that one?"

"It's a racial quality," Loki spoke up from the couch, having calmed down with the wine. "I was born like this, and the pale skin you're familiar with me wearing was subconscious glamor spell. It was a facade."

"Is everyone from Asgard blue?" Peter asked, swallowing his nervousness to walk over to the living room to the man on the couch.

He didn't remember seeing Loki's face on the news, and he didn't entirely remember Loki's attack on New York. Granted, he'd been about ten or eleven years old and was more concerned with other things than the state of Manhattan. All he really remembered was Aunt May telling him not to worry, that the government and the Avengers would take care of everything. He'd never heard anything about aliens or pagan deities, so it never sunk in for him that the kingpin of the attack was sitting in front of him, sipping red wine from a glass like a suburban housewife.

He didn't really see why everyone thought Loki was so scary. He didn't really have a lot of muscle like Thor did. Yeah, he was big in terms of height, but he didn't have the muscle to balance it out. He looked more like a lanky ferret than any horrible supervillain. His hair wasn't wild and crazy, it was just black hair that parted naturally on the side and curled slightly at the ends. As he got closer to the god, he could see how young his face looked while his eyes looked like they'd seen a thousand years worth of horrors and sorrow. At most, he'd say the guy just needed a good therapist.

"No, it's only me, though I'm not originally Aesir," Loki replied, pulling his legs up to make room for the teenager to sit on the couch near him. "I was adopted from Jotunheim. My biological parents were Jotun, as far as I know. I only ever knew one of them."

"So you make yourself look white to fit in?" Peter supplied.

"Essentially, yes." Loki nodded. He couldn't be entirely annoyed by the teenager's prying, and rather personal questions no matter how hard he tried. Peter had the same big, curious eyes Sleipnir did.

"That sounds like a pain." Peter hummed. "You seemed kinda pissed at everyone, but you don't seem to be that mad at me."

"You haven't given me reason to distrust you. Yet." Loki replied with a small shrug. "Besides, you're only a child. You remind me of my own child."

"Oh yeah, Mr. Stark did say your living here with your kid." Peter thought aloud. "Can I see him?"

Loki blinked at the question before thinking it over. "You may. Only you." he decided, finishing the wine in his glass and setting it aside.

He got up from the couch and lead Peter down the hall to Sleipnir's bedroom, stopping outside the closed door.

"We need to be very quiet since he's sleeping," he said softly. He only opened the door when Peter nodded, opening it just enough so the teenager could look in at the little boy, sleeping curled up in his bed.

The light streaming in from the hall made Sleipnir stir and wake up, turning to look over at the opened door drowsily. "Mama?" he asked.

"Oh my god." Peter breathed.

"I'm sorry, honey, we didn't mean to wake you. We were just checking in." Loki said with a small smile, slipping inside with Peter to go over to his son in the bed. He sat down on the side of the mattress.

"Who?" Sleipnir asked, pointing over at Peter lingering near the door.

"That's one of Daddy's friends, darling. I think his name is Peter?" Loki replied, waving the teenager over and letting Sleipnir crawl out from the blankets and onto his lap.

"Yeah, Peter." Peter nodded, walking over and crouching down to get at eye level with the child. "What's your name, buddy?"

Sleipnir just stared at Peter before huddling closer to Loki.

"His name is Sleipnir. He's rather shy around new people, you'll have to forgive him." Loki replied as he gently stroked his son's silver hair.

"It's chill. I was the same way when I was little." Peter chuckled. "He's so cute. How old is he?"

"Technically speaking, he's about four hundred years old. However, he's been fed so many of Idunn's golden apples at this point that he's going to be physically about six years old for a good, long while. Mentally, I think he's still catching up. He spent so much time as a horse, he never learned to speak as a baby." Loki explained.

"Come again?" Peter asked.

"Oh, Sleipnir's spent a majority of his life in the form of an eight-legged horse. They kept him young because I suppose he was at peak performance as a horse."

Peter stared at him blankly before pulling out his phone from his pocket. "Uhh, what did you say his name was again? Slipper?"

"Sleipnir."

"How do you spell that?"

"S-L-E-I-P-N-I-R."

Peter nodded and tapped away at his phone. The glow of the screen piqued Sleipnir's curiosity and the boy leaned over in his mother's lap to look. Peter stared at the screen for a little bit, moving his finger over it a couple times before looking back at up him with a horrified look on his face.

"Uh, do people on Asgard have kids with animals a lot?" he asked.

"No, not exactly," Loki replied.

"Oh, so he's just a one-time thing?" Peter asked, almost hopefully.

"Oh, no. I've had two other children with animals."

Peter gaped at him for a few moments. "Dude, I'm sorry, but after about three times, I feel like you kinda have a hobby of turning into an animal and having kids with other animals. You need a new one."

Loki found himself laughing genuinely, both from Peter's comments and the look on the teenager's face of worry and horror. He wasn't at all used to having a child speak so openly with him, and he had to admit, it was rather refreshing.

"I suppose you might have a point. I'll just have to start having children with Tony." Loki replied, laughing again at Peter's exasperated face.

"I'm gonna go find Mr. Stark and tell him you keep saying weird stuff." Peter sighed.

Loki laughed a bit more and sighed happily. "I suppose you'd like to get back to bed?" he asked Sleipnir.

Sleipnir nodded quietly and yawned for effect.

"Alright, darling. Goodnight, little one." he hummed, laying Sleipnir back down and tucking him back into the bed. "I love you."

"Love you," Sleipnir repeated with another yawn as the god kissed his forehead and cheek.

Loki smiled at that and got up from the bed to walk out of the room with Peter. He shut the door securely behind them, just in case Tony wasn't finished quite yet.

Peter beat him over to Tony. "Hey, Mr. Stark, did you know your boyfriend's got more kids with animals?"

"Yeah, I know, Pete," Tony replied. "Hey, Lo, come over here. You don't need more wine right now."

Loki looked over from where he was standing with the bottle and his empty glass. With a small sigh, he complied and set them down before walking back over to Tony. It only took a second for Tony's arm to find its way around his waist.

"Just because you aren't as armed as usual, it doesn't mean you've made the nice list." Fury said with a hard frown to Loki. "Just sitting pretty with a kid on your hip won't make me trust you or like you. Watch yourself. We'll be monitoring everything you do."

"Everything?" Loki asked, quirking his right eyebrow and smirking. "If you're interested in voyeurism, all you need to do is ask."

Nick Fury's expression didn't change. "The moment you step out of line, you're gonna find a pistol pointed between your eyes. Understand, smartass?"

"Yes, Papa. I'll be good." Loki replied, still smiling.

It didn't take the group of guests much longer to leave without properly saying goodbye or goodnight.

"You know, I wouldn't pick on Fury too much if I were you." Tony sighed, going back over to the bottle of wine to pour himself and Loki another glass.

"It's just a bit of fun, really. It's harmless." Loki hummed, taking his glass from Tony.

"I'm serious, Lolo. Please, don't push him too hard. I don't want you giving him reason to hurt you." Tony said seriously.

Loki looked up at Tony and melted at the look in his lover's dark eyes. "I'll do my best," he replied. "Insolence is in my nature."

Tony smiled a bit and just shook his head before starting to drink his wine. "Hey, you wanna down this bottle and cash that rain check?"

"Darling, I thought you'd never ask."


End file.
